Matusz out of Orioles' rotation after another shaky start

NEW YORK -- Brian Matusz is out of Baltimore's rotation for the foreseeable future.

Matusz's disappointing season took another downward turn Tuesday when Orioles manager Buck Showalter said there were no immediate plans to give the left-hander another start.

Matusz, once among baseball's brightest prospects, was knocked around by the New York Yankees on Monday, getting a no-decision in a game the Orioles eventually lost 11-10.

"I don't think Brian is at a point where he can defend himself," Showalter said.

Matusz's latest beatdown left him at 1-7 with a 9.84 earned-run average in 10 starts this year. The 24-year-old has allowed 68 hits, including 15 home runs, and walked 19 in 43 innings. He had lost his previous seven starts.

"We might get him back out there for some spots for an inning or two," Showalter said.

Showalter didn't sound particularly ready to ensure Matusz a spot in the 2012 rotation, either.

"He's got a lot of work to do between now and next April," Showalter said.

Matusz gave up five runs and five hits with two walks in only 1 1-3 innings against the Yankees.

"There's no putting excuses on it," Matusz said after the poor showing.

Matusz was the fourth player picked in the 2008 draft and showed great promise as a rookie in 2009, when he went 5-2 in eight starts over the last two months of the season.

Matusz was 10-12 with a 4.30 ERA in 32 starts last year, but seemed to be going in the right direction when he went 6-0 with a 1.57 ERA over his final eight starts.

But he had a rough go from the beginning this year. He had a wart removed from the middle finger of his pitching hand in early March, got hit hard later in spring training and later was struck by a line drive during a simulated game.

Set to start the second game of the regular season, Matusz was instead scratched and put on the disabled list because of strained rib cage muscle on his left side.

Matusz came off the disabled list and made an impressive season debut on June 1, holding Seattle to one run and four hits in 5 2-3 innings in a no-decision. He won his next start, then struggled and lost against Tampa Bay, beginning his slide.

After that defeat, Rays manager Joe Maddon said: "I think there might be something not quite right with Matusz. He's not throwing as hard as he used to."

The Orioles sent Matusz to triple-A Norfolk in late June. In early August, with the Orioles having projected far in advance that he'd be a major contributor this year, the team held a previously planned Brian Matusz bobblehead day at Camden Yards.

Matusz came back from the minors in mid-August, but has yet to win since his recall.

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Yankees top Orioles in rain-delayed game

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Only 500 fans or so were left in the stands early Wednesday when the New York Yankees finished off a rain-delayed 5-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles at 2:15 a.m., getting the go-ahead run on Francisco Cervelli's disputed home run.

With few options left for a makeup date, the messy game began at 11:08 p.m. after a wait of four hours three minutes. The Yankees and Major League Baseball were in constant contact during the long delay.

Cervelli hit his tiebreaking shot in the seventh inning off Tommy Hunter (3-3). Two fans reached near the left-field wall to grab it, and even though Orioles manager Buck Showalter argued, the umpires upheld their original home-run call after a video replay.

Brett Gardner followed with a home run, and the AL East-leading Yankees won their sixth in a row.

It was a sloppy affair, full of wild throws and fielding misadventures. Rain fell throughout the night, whipped by gusting winds. Puddles formed and the grounds crew spent nearly as much time on the field as the players, dumping bag after bag of diamond dust in hopes of drying out the pitcher's mound, batter's box and basepaths.

During a 10-minute break in the fifth, the sound system played "Fixing a Hole" by the Beatles while the Yankees huddled under the dugout roof and Showalter spoke to the umpires.

Baltimore left fielder Matt Angle had the most glaring problem with the tough conditions. He got twisted around when Cervelli lifted a fly in the fifth, dropped the ball for an error, slipped trying to recover and wound up with mud all over the front of his uniform as a run scored.

The fans had a hard time keeping their feet, too. In the fifth, two men chased a foul ball behind the plate, lost their balance on a metal walkway and splashed to the ground with a thud. They got an ovation for their effort.

All fans were allowed to move down to the expensive seats. There was no announcement about that over the public-address system — instead they were told individually. The Yankees also said tickets for this game could be redeemed for a free seat during the 2012 season.

The game ended so late, in fact, that the announcers on the Yankees' YES television network kept reminding viewers this was live action, not a post-midnight replay.

This was not, however, the longest delay at Yankee Stadium. In 2009, a game between the Yankees and Washington was held up by rain for nearly 5 1/2 hours.

Several games in the majors were delayed by rain Tuesday on what was already shaping up as a difficult week for New York and the Orioles. The teams are scheduled to play again Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. at Yankee Stadium, then meet in Baltimore on Thursday at 1:05 p.m. for the makeup of a previous rainout.

Cory Wade (4-0) won in relief. Mariano Rivera earned his 39th save of the season and 598th of his career.

Matt Wieters hit a two-run homer for the Orioles.

Chris Piteo of Springfield, Mass., was among the fans who waited out the delay.

"This is my one chance to see a game here this season," he said. "It's not like I can come any day to Yankee Stadium."

With him were his sister, Marcy, and her two sons, ages 12 and 10. They were all aware that Wednesday was a school day back home.

"We're already discussing the options," she said with a smile.

NOTES: Baltimore INF Mark Reynolds leads the majors with 27 errors. ... Chris Davis struck out on a breaking ball that bounced off his left foot, but reached first base on the wild pitch by Yankees starter Phil Hughes. ... Yankees DH Jorge Posada connected in the third inning against Tommy Hunter. His previous home run also came against Hunter, on Aug. 26. ... Reigning Miss America Teresa Scanlan sang "God Bless America" during the seventh-inning stretch.

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