Sabathia, Yankees beat Orioles 7-0 to end 6-game skid

BALTIMORE (AP) - CC Sabathia pitched seven sharp innings, Brian McCann drove in three runs and the New York Yankees ended their six-game losing streak by beating the Baltimore Orioles 7-0 Wednesday night.

Playing in his 1,000th major league game, Jacoby Ellsbury went 3 for 3 with two walks to help the Yankees improve to 9-16 and avoid their worst skid since April 2007.

Sabathia (2-2) turned in his best performance of the season at a time when New York desperately needed a victory. The lefty allowed six hits, walked two and struck out six.

After giving up three runs in each of his first four starts, the 35-year-old Sabathia craftily used a variety of off-speed pitches to earn his first win in nine tries at Camden Yards since 2011.

He outpitched Tyler Wilson (1-1), who took a one-hitter into the sixth before the light-hitting Yankees took a 3-0 lead.

New York tacked on four runs in the eighth against the Baltimore bullpen.

Ellsbury opened the game with a double and was thrown out trying to score on a grounder. His one-out single in the sixth, however, ignited the uprising that brought the Yankees out of their ugly slide.

Ellsbury stole second, advanced to third on a single by Brett Gardner and scored on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Beltran. McCann followed with a two-out RBI single, and another run scored on a throwing error by reliever Mike Wright.

McCann's two-run double was the big hit in the eighth.

Before the game, the Yankees put designated hitter Alex Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Despite a .194 batting average, A-Rod started the day tied for the team lead with 12 RBIs.

That's a tough loss for a struggling offense that started the day tied for last in the AL in runs.

In this game, however, one was enough.

Despite allowing a hit in each of the first five innings, Sabathia kept the Orioles at bay. After Baltimore put runners on the corners with one out in the fifth, Sabathia struck out rookie Joey Rickard and retired Manny Machado on a liner to center.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Yankees: New York will get a better idea of how long Rodriguez will be out when team doctor Christopher Ahmed examines him and the MRI. "I'm going on the DL, so it's serious enough," A-Rod said.

Orioles: Closer Zach Britton is closer to recovering from a jammed left ankle, but it will likely be several days before he returns. "He's worth waiting on. We'll take it day to day," manager Buck Showalter said.

UP NEXT

Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 2.87 ERA) makes his sixth start of the season in the series finale. He's allowed two runs in each outing.

Orioles: Kevin Gausman (0-1, 2.45) seeks his first win of the season in his third start since coming off the DL. He had been sidelined with a shoulder injury.