Stephen Drew's three-run bomb helped the Yankees beat the Orioles. (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)
BALTIMORE — Stephen Drew hit a pinch-hit grand slam off right-hander Tommy Hunter in the seventh inning, helping the New York Yankees rally for a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night.
Hunter came on in the seventh after left-hander Wei-Yin Chen exited with a 4-2 lead. Baltimore built the advantage on a two-run homer from center fielder Adam Jones off Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda with two outs in the sixth.
Left fielder Chris Young singled off Hunter and moved to second when catcher John Ryan Murphy walked. Hunter retired the next two batters before center Jacoby Ellsbury reached on an infield single, loading the bases.
Drew then came on for left fielder Brett Gardner — he was hit in the wrist earlier in the game and X-rays came back negative — and belted a 3-1 pitch from Hunter (0-1) over the center field fence for a 6-4 lead.
The last time the Yankees (3-4) had a pinch-hit grand slam also came against the Orioles, when Jorge Posada did it on June 6, 2001.
The Orioles (3-4) added a run in the seventh when left fielder Alejandro De Aza grounded into a bases-loaded force against right-hander Dellin Betances. With the bases loaded later in the inning, first baseman Chris Davis struck out for the fourth time in the game.
Pineda (1-0) got the victory despite giving up five runs on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings. Pineda struck out nine without a walk.
Betances then threw one shutout inning before former Oriole Andrew Miller came on. The left-hander got the final five outs for his second save of the season.
Chen pitched six innings of two-run ball.
The Yankees took an early 1-0 lead when Young hit a solo homer off Chen in the top of the second. Young crushed a hanging curve and sent it into the left field seats with two outs.
The lead didn’t last long, as the Orioles scored twice in the bottom half of the second off Pineda. Third baseman Manny Machado and second baseman Jonathan Schoop hit RBI doubles. At first, Schoop was ruled out at second base, but the umpires overturned the call after manager Buck Showalter challenged the tag made by second baseman Gregorio Petit.
The Yankees then tied it on first baseman Mark Teixeira’s solo homer with two outs in the fourth. It was Teixeira’s 366th career homer, tying him with Lance Berkman for fifth place among all switch hitters.
NOTES: The Orioles reinstated OF David Lough (left hamstring strain) from the 15-day disabled list and optioned RHP Eddie Gamboa to Triple-A Norfolk. Gamboa was with the Orioles over the weekend but did not appear in a game. … Orioles pitching coach Dave Wallace missed the game due to a funeral and will return Tuesday. Dom Chiti served as the pitching coach while Ramon Martinez handled bullpen duties. … New York’s Alex Rodriguez started at third base for the first time this season. He started five times as the designated hitter and once at first base last week. … The Yankees came into the Baltimore series tied with the A’s for most errors (nine) in the majors and had the lowest fielding percentage (.966) in baseball. Manager Joe Girardi said it hadn’t become an issue to him yet.
