Raul Ibanez leads the New York Yankees to an improbably win in Game Three of the ALDS

By Gary W. Marchese Jr.

Bronx, NY (October 10, 2012) – The New York Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles by the score of 3-2 in the 12^th inning.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.  Hiroki Kuroda started for the Yankees and pitched very well, the Yankees bullpen was great and the unsung heroes of this game.  Raul Ibanez is the offensive hero with a game tying and winning homerun.  Miguel Gonzalez started for the Orioles and was very good, the Orioles bullpen wasn’t as good.  The Orioles offense was led by Nate McClouth.

Kuroda pitched 8 1/3 innings giving up two runs on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts.  Boone Logan faced one batter and struck him out, Rafael Soriano pitched 11/3 innings giving up a hit and striking out one and David Robertson picked up the win pitching two innings giving up a hit and striking out two.  Gonzalez pitched seven innings giving up five hits and a run.  He didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight, Darren O’Day pitched a perfect inning and Jim Johnson blew the save pitching two innings giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.  Brian Matusz lost the game pitching an inning and giving up a hit and a run with a strikeout.

Derek Jeter had two hits and an RBI, he also got taken out with a bruised foot.  Ibanez had two hits and two RBI, Nick Swisher had a hit and Russell Martin had two hits.  Martin hit a double, Jeter hit a triple and Ibanez hit two homeruns.  The Yankees were 1-3 with runners in scoring position and left three men on base.

McClouth had two hits, Chris Davis drew a walk and Adam Jones had a hit.  Mark Reynolds had a hit, Flaherty had a hit and an RBI and Robert Andino had a hit.  Manny Machado had a hit and an RBI, Flaherty and Machado each hit a homerun.  The Orioles were 0-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  McClouth had a stolen base and was caught stealing.

Flaherty hit a solo homerun in the third giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead.  Jeter hit an RBI triple in the third to tie the game at one.  The Orioles took a 2-1 lead in the fifth on a Machado solo homerun.  The Yankees tied the game in the ninth on a Ibanez pinch hit solo homerun.  The Yankees won the game in the 12^th on a Ibanez solo homerun.  The final was 3-2 in game three with game four to come on Thursday night.

The Yankees and Orioles have played three games in this ALDS and the Yankees have a 2-1 lead.  They played 18 times in the regular season and split them 9-9, so the Yankees now have a 11-10 advantage this year over the Orioles.  This series has been tied or a one run game in the ninth in each game.  This was the Orioles first walk-off loss of the season.  It was their first extra inning loss after winning 16 straight of them.  The Yankees are the only team that has beat Baltimore in extra innings this season.  Phil Hughes will pitch against Joe Saunders on Thursday night.  The game is scheduled for 737PM, if the Tigers win tonight and advance to the ALCS then it will be moved back to 837PM.