BALTIMORE — Things worked out better this time for Wei-Yin Chen.
The bases were loaded with one out last night in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the American League Division Series. It was a chance for Chen, the Orioles’ rookie left-hander, to completely fall apart.
The last time Chen faced the Yankees, things melted down in a spot very similar to this. Chen had opened that game, on Sept. 7, with three scoreless innings, then surrendered seven runs in his next 1 2/3 frames.
But last night, with the bases full and Eduardo Nunez and Derek Jeter coming up next for the Yankees, Chen delivered. The 27-year-old from Taiwan got Nunez on a pop-out to short, then retired Jeter on an inning-ending ground out.
“[Chen] scuffled down the stretch a little bit,” first baseman Mark Reynolds said after the Orioles’ 3-2 series-tying triumph, “but he showed what he’s got tonight.”
In his first postseason start, Chen was terrific, tossing 6 1/3 innings and allowing only two runs, one earned. Most importantly, he never lost the lead after the Orioles put him up 2-1 in the third inning and 3-1 in the sixth. When Chen left the game in the seventh, the Birds led 3-2.
Impressively, Chen only issued one walk all night, striking out three in a start that was as close to a must-win for his team as you can have. Not bad — especially since it was Chen’s fifth start against the Yankees this season.
“Chen was the key to that ballgame,” Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said.
Working with a 91-92-mph fastball as well as a slider and a change-up, Chen got into trouble in the first inning, but also got a huge play from second baseman Robert Andino to get out of the jam. After Jeter opened with a single and Ichiro Suzuki reached on an error, Alex Rodriguez drilled a liner up the middle — but Andino snared it with a diving catch, robbing A-Rod to save a run and flipping to second to double up Jeter.
Chen still allowed an unearned run in the inning after Robinson Cano’s double brought home Suzuki. But he allowed just four more hits over the next five shutout innings before being touched for a run in the seventh.
“Today I just wanted to go deep,” Chen said. “I didn’t want to think too much. I just wanted to face one batter, one batter and another batter. I didn’t want to think too much, and I just kept going.”