BALTIMORE — No Yankee is more familiar with Travis Hafner than CC Sabathia, making the ace the resident expert.
“It looks like he is back,’’ Sabathia said of his former Indians teammate whose career has been derailed by injuries. “He is healthy and happy.’’
Last night at Camden Yards, Hafner put a smile on Yankees faces with a game-tying homer in the ninth inning off pellet-throwing Jim Johnson and added an RBI single in a two-run 10th that carried the Yankees to a 6-4 win over the Orioles in front of 24,133.
“He means a lot. He is a run producer and sees a lot of pitches,’’ Joe Girardi said of the DH who sent up red flags last week when the right shoulder barked loud enough that a cortisone injection was required. “He can hit the ball out of any ballpark.’’
However, Hafner has lowered the anxiety level by hitting two homers and driving in four runs in the past two games.
Leading by a run in the ninth, O’s manager Buck Showalter called for Johnson despite him having flushed the last two save chances. Two outs away from helping the Orioles stop a five-game losing streak, Johnson came with a 94-mph 3-1 pitch that Hafner crushed the other way into the seats in left-center.
“He made a pretty good pitch there, pretty good swing on it,’’ Hafner said.
In the 10th, the left-handed swinging Hafner’s RBI single off lefty Brian Matusz upped the lead to 6-4 and was more than enough for Mariano Rivera to record the final three outs for a 17th save in 17 chances.
The victory was the Yankees’ (28-16) third straight and 10th in 13 games. The Orioles have dropped six in a row.
The late-game heroics were required because Sabathia gave up a pair of leads and surrendered four runs and 11 hits in 6 1/3 innings. He didn’t bury the Yankees, but he wasn’t pleased with a second consecutive game in which he gave up double-digit hits.
“Later in the game, I was up with everything,’’ said Sabathia, who hasn’t won since April 27 (four starts). “Early, I had good control but couldn’t put guys away.’’
Robinson Cano in the first and David Adams in the second staked Sabathia to a 2-0 lead with homers. It was Cano’s 13th of the season and Adams’ first in the big leagues. Sabathia gave half of that back in the second when Chris Davis homered. Nick Markakis’ RBI double in the fifth tied the score, but Lyle Overbay’s leadoff homer in the seventh off lefty Troy Patton put the Yankees ahead, 3-2.
“He is a fastball, slider [pitcher],’’ Overbay said of Patton, whom lefties were hitting .310 (9-for-29) against. Overbay was an anemic .119 (5-for-42) versus lefties. “It was just a matter of getting a pitch up in the zone and taking advantage of it. Obviously, he hung that pitch.’’
Sabathia left trailing, 4-3, with a runner on second and one out. Shawn Kelley’s strong May continued when he fanned Adam Jones, walked Davis intentionally and stuck out Matt Wieters.
Boone Logan recorded two big outs in the eighth and David Robertson worked a scoreless ninth. The two runs in the 10th when Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells opened with doubles, gave the game to Rivera.
“These guys are doing a tremendous job and that’s what we needed,’’ Rivera said of the relievers working in front of him. “No matter what it takes.’’
It also helps when your DH is healthy, happy, and, according to Sabathia, back to being the hitter who terrorized AL hurlers while in Cleveland.
george.king@nypost.com