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Final 1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9   R H E NY Yankees 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 5 0 Baltimore 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 x 5 9 0

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  W: W. Chen (4-0)   L: C. Sabathia (5-1)   S: J. Johnson (12)

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By JON PALMIERI

(AP) -- The Baltimore Orioles have been one of baseball's biggest surprises, but their struggles against the New York Yankees - particularly at home - have remained.

Avoiding a fifth straight home loss to their AL East rivals will be a challenge with a red-hot CC Sabathia on the mound Tuesday night in the conclusion of this two-game series.

While the Orioles (22-14) appear to be an improved team and figure to have a good chance at ending a run of 14 straight losing seasons, that hasn't helped them against the Yankees (20-15).

Baltimore has lost five of seven meetings in 2012 and dropped to 0-4 in the season series at home with Monday night's 8-5 defeat. Slumping Mark Teixeira snapped a tie with a two-run homer in the seventh and Curtis Granderson also went deep to help New York win for the fourth time in five games.

Asked if his two-hit, two-RBI performance made him feel any better, Teixeira replied, "I'd like to say yes. I want to be positive, but the truth is ... not really. I'm just trying to grind through it. In this game, you're always playing through something."

The Yankees are 104-55-1 in the regular season at Camden Yards - a .652 winning percentage which is the best by any AL team in the park's history.

Adding another win to that total seems likely with Sabathia (5-0, 3.51 ERA) on the hill. He's 16-2 with a 2.86 ERA in 23 starts against the Orioles and has completed at least six innings in the last 13 matchups.

The left-hander has looked every bit like an ace lately, lasting eight innings in four straight outings and posting a 2.52 ERA during his five-start win streak after compiling a 6.75 mark in his first two. He outpitched David Price in a 5-3 victory over Tampa Bay on Thursday, allowing two runs with a season-high 10 strikeouts.

Sabathia's last appearance that didn't result in a win came at Baltimore on April 11, when he gave up four runs and eight hits over six innings of an extra-inning victory.

Robert Andino is 8 for 17 with a homer against Sabathia while Matt Wieters is 4 for 21 with eight strikeouts.

Baltimore has lost five of eight on a nine-game homestand to fall into a tie with Tampa Bay for the top spot in the East.

First baseman Chris Davis made a key error in the sixth Monday, letting a potential double-play grounder get through as two runs scored.

"I just wasn't ready to make the catch," Davis said. "Tried to make the throw before I had the ball."

The Orioles have received quality starts in only two of their last nine games and Wei-Yin Chen (3-0, 2.43) was responsible for one of those. The Taiwan native has allowed two runs or fewer in five of six starts and is coming off arguably his best outing.

He limited a potent Texas lineup to two runs - one earned - and six hits over a season-best 7 2-3 innings with one walk and five strikeouts Thursday in a 6-5 victory.

Chen made his major league debut against the Yankees on April 10, yielding four runs - two earned - and seven hits in 5 2-3 innings before leaving without a decision in an extra-inning loss.

Derek Jeter led off that game with a home run. He had his 3,143rd hit Monday to move into sole possession of 16th place on the career list.

Updated May 15, 2012