New York @ Baltimore preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 6, 2012 ) NY Yankees 6, Baltimore 10

The Baltimore Orioles are beating the New York Yankees at their own game, and another victory Friday night would vault the Orioles into sole possession of first place in the American League East. The Orioles blasted six home runs - two by red-hot Mark Reynolds - to pound out a 10-6 victory in Thursday's opener of the four-game series. Reynolds has been a one-man wrecking crew against the Yankees with three two-homer games against them in a seven-day span.

New York held a 10-game lead in the division on July 18 but has been fading steadily, losing 11 of its last 16 games. The Yankees, who lead the majors in homers, showed some moxie by fighting back from a five-run deficit Thursday, only to watch the Orioles respond with three eighth-inning homers. Baltimore has won three of four against New York since last Friday and eight of the last 11 meetings overall, scoring at least five runs in each victory.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, YES (New York), MASN (Baltimore)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Phil Hughes (13-12, 4.18 ERA) vs. Orioles LH Wei-Yin Chen, (12-8, 3.79)

Hughes is tied for the American League lead with 32 home runs surrendered, and he was touched for a pair in an 8-3 loss to the Orioles on Sunday. He lasted only five innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, after permitting only three earned runs in his three previous starts. Hughes beat Baltimore on Aug. 1, giving up one run on nine hits in six innings, and is 5-4 with a 5.27 ERA in 16 appearances (13 starts) versus the Orioles.

Chen will be making his fourth start against the Yankees this season. He took the loss in New York on Saturday, giving up four runs - three earned - in 6 2/3 innings. He faced the Yankees twice early in the season at Baltimore, allowing a pair of runs in each outing, and is 1-1 with a 3.26 ERA in the three starts. Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano have all gone deep against Chen, who has held New York to a .208 batting average.

WALK-OFFS

1. Reynolds is the second player in history to have three two-homer games in a season against New York. The other was Detroit's Hank Greenberg in 1938.

2. Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez had an RBI double Thursday to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.

3. In his last seven games, Reynolds is batting .423 (11-for-26) with eight homers and 16 RBIs.