Yankees earn split in Baltimore to remain atop AL East - MLB

There was nothing settled in Baltimore this weekend: the Yankees crushed the Orioles 13-3 on Sunday to earn a split of the four-game series and maintain a one-game lead in the AL East.

Curtis Granderson and Derek Jeter homered in the rout.

The Yankees took a 5-0 lead in a four-run fourth inning that included a pair of bases-loaded walks. Baltimore came right back with three runs in the bottom of the frame, but that amounted to all of the team’s scoring on the day. The Yankees turned it into a laugher by scoring two in the seventh and five in the eighth.

Granderson became the first Yankee since at least 1918 to knock in five runs in a game in which he didn’t start. He pinch-hit for Andruw Jones after the Orioles replaced left-hander Zach Britton and had a solo homer, a two-run single and a two-run double in his three at-bats.

The Cubs’ David DeJesus and the Athletics’ Seth Smith have also had five-RBI games off the bench this year.

Joba Chamberlain got his first win of the year for the Yankees after relieving Freddy Garcia in the fourth and pitching 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

While nothing was settled in the standings this weekend, it will likely prove to be a costly series for both teams. Nick Markakis is out six weeks with a broken thumb after being hit by a CC Sabathia pitch, and Mark Teixeira could be done for at least the regular season after aggravating his calf Saturday night.

The Yankees placed Nestor Cortes on the 15-day injured list with a left rotator cuff strain that will sideline the left-hander for at least two starts.

The move is retroactive to Monday and Cortes will be shut down for at least 15 days.

After Tuesday’s game, Cortes said the shoulder has been bothering him between starts and more so after he pitched five innings May 30 in Seattle.

“I took two days off and when I got to LA and threw that first day, I didn’t feel right,” Cortes said Tuesday. “But it was first day coming back from pitching so I knew it was going to be nagging a little bit. So I waited a little bit.

“That second day in LA was when I said something because it felt like I had pitched yesterday. So I wasn’t recovering in time.”

Cortes is 5-2 with a 5.16 ERA in 11 starts and has particularly struggled later in outings. Opponents are hitting .447 when facing him for the third time in a game.

Last year, Cortes was an All-Star and went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA in 28 starts.

Randy Vásquez was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre to take Cortes’ spot in the rotation and will make his second career start in Thursday’s doubleheader. Vásquez made his major league debut May 26 against San Diego when the Yankees needed a starter because Domingo Germán was serving a 10-game suspension for using sticky substances.