Hideki Matsui homered off Jim Johnson in the ninth inning Monday night, giving the streaking New York Yankees a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Matsui lined a a 2-2 pitch into the right-field seats off Jim Johnson (3-4), extending the Yankees’ winning streak to four since the All-Star break. Matsui’s only other game-ending homer in the majors was July 17, 2003, against Cleveland’s David Riske.
New York (55-37), which began the night one game behind AL East-leading Boston, moved 18 games over .500 for first time since the end of 2007 season (94-68). The Yankees have won eight straight home games against the Orioles.
Baltimore dropped to 1-12 on the road this year against AL East.