CC burned by costly HRs in opener with O's

BALTIMORE -- CC Sabathia raised both arms in exaltation after coercing a fifth-inning double-play ball on Monday, a high point of an effort in which he had to grind hard against a last-place Orioles club. The lefty's jubilance did not last, as Danny Valencia's go-ahead homer handed the Yankees a 5-4 loss in the first game of a doubleheader at Camden Yards.
Valencia snapped an 0-for-25 skid as he sent an 80.4-mph Sabathia slider beyond the center-field wall for a three-run blast in the sixth inning, helping Baltimore capitalize after first baseman Neil Walker whiffed on a potential twin-killing that was scored as a double for Jonathan Schoop.
"I think it was just a pitch he knew was coming," Sabathia said. "I probably should've went a different way right there, especially after he swung at the first one and I tried to do it again. That was a mistake on my part. Both of those guys that I get out most of the time, so that's frustrating."

The O's snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 15 contests. New York fell to 3-4 against Baltimore this season as Mark Trumbo also hit a two-run homer off Sabathia, part of a lengthy fourth inning in which Sabathia was able to pin the bases loaded to prevent further damage.
"They have some right-handed hitters with some power, but usually CC is able to take advantage of some teams that are aggressive," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "This is a very aggressive team, but to their credit, I thought they did a real nice job of laying off some close pitches and the cut fastball."
Sabathia barked frequently at home-plate umpire John Tumpane as he permitted seven hits over five-plus innings. He has not defeated the Orioles since May 4, 2016, a span of nine starts.
"I'm usually better than that, and able to clear my mind and go out and just make pitches whatever the situation is," Sabathia said.

Giancarlo Stanton hit his 22nd homer before Aaron Judge and Didi Gregorius punched run-scoring singles off O's right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis, who scattered six hits over five innings in his second big league start. Walker's sixth-inning RBI single off Mike Wright Jr. gave the Yankees a two-run lead at the time.
"They're all a grind, and every win is a good one and feels good," Boone said. "The losses stink. We don't have really a lot of time to soak this one in. We'll get onto the next one right now."
SOUND SMART
Sabathia's fourth-inning strikeout of Joey Rickard marked his 1,528th strikeout as a Yankee, surpassing Red Ruffing (1,527) for fourth place on the franchise's all-time strikeout list.