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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
BALTIMORE (AP) -- For the New York Yankees, the game served as
evidence that the two-time defending World Series champions are
back on course after a lengthy malaise.
For the Baltimore Orioles, it was yet another embarrassment in a
season that long ago turned sour.
|  | | New York's Bernie Williams is right on track as he gets into his grand slam as the Yankees were 19-1 winners over the Orioles.
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Paul O'Neill had six RBI, four hits and a homer, and Bernie
Williams hit a grand slam as the Yankees routed the Orioles 19-1
Tuesday night.
Derek Jeter, Ryan Thompson and Clay Bellinger also homered and
Jose Vizcaino had four of the Yankees' season-high 20 hits. New
York has won eight of 11 to move 11 games over .500 (53-42) for the
first time since May 12.
"We're on a roll now. It seems like all the aspects of our game
are clicking -- our pitching, we're hitting the ball great, we're
hitting in scoring position," Williams said. "It just seems like
everything is coming together."
An eighth-inning homer by B.J. Surhoff enabled the Orioles to
avoid the worst shutout loss in franchise history. Baltimore's most
lopsided defeat was by 19 runs, 26-7 at Texas in 1996.
"It was just one of those games. It was ugly, you're glad you
get through it healthy and you move on," Orioles manager Mike
Hargrove said. "It certainly isn't fun."
Hargrove used five pitchers, and each gave up at least a run.
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Ripken hints at quitting
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He might have danced around the issue, but he didn't avoid it completely.
Baltimore's Cal Ripken Jr. talked about life after baseball in an interview Tuesday with WMAR-TV, raising at least some speculation that the man who played in more consecutive baseball games than anyone else in history might be thinking about retirement while he is on the disabled list with back spasms.
Ripken said retirement could be right around the corner, but failed to be any more specific. He said his real concern now is trying to figure out what he can and can't do because of his back problems.
In the past few days, Ripken has taken groundballs and done some light throwing. He has missed the Orioles' past 23 games and the All-Star Game. He went on the disabled list June 29.
The club has left it up to Ripken -- with the approval of the team trainer and doctor -- to decide when he feels well enough to return to the active roster.
-- ESPN.com news services
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"We just didn't pitch well. That may be the understatement of
the season," he said.
Andy Pettitte (10-6) allowed eight hits in seven innings to
improve to 11-2 against the Orioles, including 7-0 at Camden Yards.
He had been winless in three starts since beating the Orioles at
Yankee Stadium on July 5.
"It's easier to pitch with a five- or six-run lead, but when you
get a 12 or 14-run lead, it's kind of hard to concentrate and keep
your focus," said Pettitte, who was replaced with New York ahead
17-0.
The Yankees did the brunt of their damage against Scott
Erickson, who yielded eight runs and nine hits in four innings. The
key blow was O'Neill's 13th homer, a three-run drive that put New
York up 8-0 in the fourth.
Williams' ninth career slam and second this season capped a
six-run seventh inning against Chuck McElroy that made it 16-0.
Thompson hit a solo shot in the eighth and Bellinger hit a two-run
drive in the ninth.
"We're all swinging the bats pretty well, we've pitched well,
we just seem to have a good feel about us right now," Yankees
manager Joe Torre said.
Erickson (5-8) has lost five of his last eight starts and owns a
lofty 7.87 ERA. His ineffectiveness has severely lessened his value
as the skidding Orioles ponder deals before the July 31 trade
deadline.
"We just haven't seen consistency in the movement of his
pitches that we've seen in the past," Hargrove said. "He
certainly hasn't found his stride, hasn't found his rhythm."
Baltimore fell a season-high 12 games behind the first-place
Yankees in the American League East and dropped 13 games below .500 (43-56),
tying a season low.
The Orioles went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position after
going 1-for-14 Monday in a 4-3 loss to New York.
O'Neill hit a run-scoring single in the first inning, and New York made
it 4-0 in the third. After O'Neill hit a run-scoring groundout, Williams
singled in a run and beat the throw to the plate on a two-out
double by David Justice.
Jeter extended his hitting streak to a season-high 13 games with
a run-scoring single in the fourth before O'Neill drilled Erickson's next
pitch into the right-field seats.
Jeter hit a two-run homer off Gabe Molina in the sixth to make
it 10-0.
Game notes
It was the 18th time the Orioles have allowed at least 10
runs. Baltimore also has yielded seven grand slams. ... Justice has
15 RBI in 20 games with New York. ... Baltimore executed a double
steal in the second, the first time since April 7 that a team has
stolen on Pettitte. ... Albert Belle has gone 23 games without a
homer, matching the longest dry spell of his career.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
NY Yankees Clubhouse
Baltimore Clubhouse
Surhoff on trade rumors: Being home better than contending
RECAPS
Minnesota 4
Boston 2
Detroit 6
Tampa Bay 4
Cleveland 10
Toronto 3
NY Yankees 19
Baltimore 1
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