Cruz hits 40th, Orioles hold off Jeter, Yanks 5-4

NEW YORK (AP) -- Nelson Cruz hit his major league-leading 40th home run and the Baltimore Orioles pushed Derek Jeter and the Yankees to the brink of playoff elimination, beating New York 5-4 Tuesday night.

The Yankees fell five games behind for the second AL wild card with only five games left.

Jeter extended his hitting streak to seven games, but struck out on three pitches with a runner on first to end it. The retiring captain has two more home dates scheduled.

The AL East champion Orioles began the day 2 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Angels, who played later at Oakland, for the best record in the league and home-field advantage for the entire postseason.

Cruz boosted his career high with a drive into the left-field seats to open the fifth inning, giving him 107 RBIs. He became the sixth Baltimore player to post a 40-homer season, topped by Chris Davis' 53 last year.

A day after getting shut out on one single, Baltimore broke loose. Nick Markakis, who got four of the Orioles' 17 hits, and Kelly Johnson also homered for the team that tops the majors with 205. Cruz and Nick Hundley each had three hits.

Ubaldo Jimenez (6-9) made his second start in more than a month, giving up three hits in five-plus innings. A disappointment since signing a four-year, $50 million free-agent deal, Jimenez isn't likely to start in the playoffs - this outing came while manager Buck Showalter gave his other starters an extra day of rest heading into October.

Zach Britton pitched the ninth for his 36th save in 40 chances. After Brett Gardner got an infield hit with two outs, Britton fanned a swinging Jeter with a 96 mph fastball for the final out.

Brandon McCarthy (7-5) gave up 11 hits in 5 1-3 innings, including all three Baltimore home runs.

Markakis led off the game with a single, hit an RBI single in the second, and his two-run homer in the fourth made it 4-0. He returned to the lineup Monday after missing four games with a bruised right shoulder.

Brian McCann hit his 23rd homer, a two-run drive in the Yankees seventh off Andrew Miller.

Ichiro Suzuki doubled for his 2,841st hit in the big leagues, moving into 47th place on the career list past Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Orioles: 1B Steve Pearce missed his fourth straight game. He had a cortisone shot in his sore right wrist this week.

Yankees: 1B Mark Teixeira returned to the lineup after missing two games because of his ailing right wrist. He recently had a third cortisone shot. The oft-injured Teixeira said he plans to take only a week off this winter, rather than a month. "I definitely need to get stronger. Full body, especially the wrist," he said.

UP NEXT

In Jeter's next-to-last game scheduled at Yankee Stadium, Orioles RHP Bud Norris (14-8, 3.62 ERA) pitches against RHP Shane Greene (5-3, 3.24). The early start time of 1:05 p.m. is because of Rosh Hashana, which begins at dusk.

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