BALTIMORE _ First things first.
There's no such thing as a must-win game on April 9 of a baseball season.
Still, having blown sizable leads in each of their previous two games and about to begin an unknown period of time without injured catcher Gary Sanchez, flipping the script on an ugly start to the year needed to happen sooner rather than later.
"I think today's an important game," Joe Girardi said late Sunday morning. "We have to turn it around today."
With CC Sabathia going six solid innings and Ronald Torreyes, Aaron Judge and Starlin Castro providing just enough with the bats, the Yankees did, erupting in a four-run ninth to take a 7-3 victory over the Orioles on Sunday afternoon in front of 42,487 at Camden Yards.
The victory allowed the Yankees to avoid a three-game sweep and sent them back to the Bronx for Monday's home opener 2-4 rather than 1-5, which would have been the club's worst start since 1989. The Orioles fell to 4-1.
The Yankees, who got a game-tying homer from Judge in the eighth after falling behind 3-0, opened it up in the ninth again sidearmer Darren O'Day. Matt Holliday led off with his fifth walk of the afternoon _ the Yankees finished with 11 _ and pinch runner Jacoby Ellsbury stole second with Chris Carter at the plate.
The first baseman, getting the start for Greg Bird, walked on five pitches. Castro then banged an 0-and-2 pitch up the middle for an RBI single that made it 4-3. Judge's fielder's choice made it 5-3 and Austin Romine's long sacrifice fly and throwing error by second baseman Jonathan Schoop on a relay throw brought in two more runs to make it 7-3. Aroldis Chapman, making his second appearance of the season, pitched a scoreless ninth.
Sabathia, coming off five scoreless innings in his first start of the season, wasn't bad, allowing three runs (two earned) and six hits over six innings, the longest outing of any Yankees starter so far.
Orioles lefty Wade Miley had almost no command but managed to pitch five shutout innings, despite walking seven batters as the Yankees couldn't capitalize on his wildness.
The Yankees finally started to hit in the sixth when right-hander Tyler Wilson came on.
Judge, who had two RBIs, started the rally with a two-out single, lasering one off the base of the wall in left for a single. Romine singled and Torreyes, 0-for-2 to that point in the game, roped a two-run triple to right-center to make it 3-2.
Judge led off the eighth against righty Mychal Givens, hammering a 2-and-2 pitch into the seats in left for his first homer of the season. Judge entered the day 2-for-15.
