NEW YORK — Jake Arrieta nearly made getting into a good rhythm a mantra between starts.
That focus kept him right in step when it counted.
Arrieta pitched eight innings of five-hit ball Wednesday night, and the Baltimore Orioles ended Ivan Nova’s 15-game winning streak with a 5-0 victory over the New York Yankees.
“After I make my pitch don’t get too far from the mound. Make a quality pitch, get the ball back and get right back to work,” Arrieta said of his plan. “When things are going well, tempo is a positive part of your outing.”
On Wednesday, manager Buck Showalter and catcher Matt Wieters also credited tempo with helping the 26-year-old right-hander have one of the best outings of his career. Arrieta (2-2) set a career high for innings pitched, matched a best with nine strikeouts and never let a Yankees player reach second base.
“Tonight, it was fun to play behind him,” Showalter said.
Wieters homered and hit an RBI double, Nick Markakis also connected and Baltimore earned a rare series win in New York with a team pitching effort not seen since the days of Jim Palmer and Mike Flanagan.
The Orioles lost the first game of the series 2-1 and won the middle game 7-1. With Arrieta’s effort, the Orioles held the Yankees to two runs or fewer in three straight games in the Bronx for the first time since 1978, when Don Stanhouse joined Palmer and Flanagan in accomplishing the feat.
“It’s big. Those guys have great stuff and great ability,” Wieters, the Orioles catcher said. “Now they’re starting to learn how to pitch and get deep into games.”
Baltimore is just 12-30 against the Yankees since the start of 2010. The Orioles were swept in Baltimore in a three-game set in early April.
But they have won eight of 10 overall and trail first-place Tampa Bay by just a game in the AL East. To
“It’s not near as meaningful as everybody makes it out, they’re just one of the teams in our division,” Showalter beating said of beating the Yankees.
Jim Johnson pitched a perfect ninth in relief of Arrieta, who has never thrown a complete game.
“I had a pretty good idea they were going to the pen. I take some glances at my pitch count,” said Arrieta, who threw 111 pitches in a career high for innings.
Yankees third baseman Eric Chavez left the game during his at-bat in the bottom of the fifth because of a whiplash injury and possible concussion. He was hurt in the top of the inning diving to try and stop J.J. Hardy’s double down the line, one of the Orioles’ six extra-base hits.
Chavez went to the hospital for tests and will not travel with the team to Kansas City late Wednesday.
“When he dove, when he came off the field, he said felt a little dizzy but he said he felt all right. … Then when he was going through his at-bat he got dizzy,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.
Nova (3-1) was one win away from matching Roger Clemens’ team record of 16 straight winning decisions. Since last June 10, Nova made 20 starts without a loss. The right-hander benefited this season from strong run support, though: In his last start he gave up six runs but the Yankees rallied for a 7-6 victory over Detroit.
New York’s bats could not help him this time. Arrieta was too tough.
Nova matched Arrieta until allowing a homer to Wieters leading off the fourth. The Orioles added a run in the sixth by taking advantage of two walks and a wild pitch. Robert Andino, who had three hits and a walk, singled to deep short for a 2-0 lead. One of the walks was to Mark Reynolds, who came in batting .143 and has struck out in 19 straight games.
“It’s 2-0 after six and we had a chance to win that game, and then it got away from him in the seventh,” Girardi said. “But for the most part I thought he threw the ball pretty well.”
Markakis hit a long drive to right-center with one out in the seventh. Nova knew it was gone right away, smacking his right thigh in anger almost immediately after it left the bat.
Wieters then doubled in a run after Adam Jones was hit by a pitch, ending Nova’s night after 6 1-3 innings. He allowed five runs on nine hits and four walks.
Nick Johnson had an RBI single in the seventh. Demoted starter Freddy Garcia pitched two scoreless innings for relief for New York.
NOTES: Orioles LHP Tsuyoshi Wada will have elbow-ligament reconstruction surgery. Wada has been sidelined since the last week of spring training. Los Angeles Angels team doctor Lewis Yocum will perform the surgery May 11. … Baltimore LHP Zach Britton, who hasn’t pitched all season because of discomfort in his left shoulder, will begin pitching in extended spring games. He is scheduled for outings on May 10, 15 and 21. If all goes well, he could make a rehab start May 26. … Baltimore held the Yankees to a .183 average (17 for 93) and three runs and three extra-base hits in the series.
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