Chen, Hardy and Jones help Orioles defeat Yankees; Earn series split

In the offseason, I questioned a lot of Dan Duquette’s moves – especially Wei-Yin Chen. Honestly, it was to be determined what Chen brought to the table with the Orioles and fans were intrigued what he could do in the majors, most notably against the beasts of the American League East.

So far, Chen is passing the test. In fact, he may be singularly well the best pickup that Duquette has had throughout the young season so far. Although he does not throw all that hard – from the high 80’s to very low 90’s – Chen locates so well and paints the ‘black’ so effectively on either side of the plate.

That being said, the Taiwanese southpaw earned his fourth win of the season and helped give the Baltimore Orioles the split over the Yankees in their brief two-game series. They defeated the Bronx Bombers, 5-2, in a masterful effort by Chen who allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings of work. Jim Johnson got the save, his 12th.

The Orioles were significantly helped out by the double play – especially in the eighth and ninth innings, where the Yankees looked to possibly break things open.

The Orioles are 23-14 and share the American League East lead with the Rays. The offense broke through against southpaw C.C. Sabathia, who was off on the night, and left many pitches in zone. Sabathia’s offerings were hit hard and times; therefore, he was tagged for four runs in six innings of work.

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