Orioles-Yankees Preview

Now that Derek Jeter has become the New York Yankees' all-time leader in hits, they can focus on moving closer to an AL East title.

The Yankees will send A.J. Burnett to the mound on Saturday when they continue a three-game home series against the Baltimore Orioles.

Jeter broke the record held by Yankees legend Lou Gehrig for more than seven decades on Friday night with an opposite-field single in the third inning of a 10-4 loss.

"The whole experience has been overwhelming," Jeter said. "This is more than I could've imagined."

When his grounder got past diving first baseman Luke Scott, Jeter's parents raised their arms in excitement. Joining them in an upstairs box filled with family and friends were his sister and steady girlfriend, actress Minka Kelly.

The captain added an RBI single -- his 2,723rd hit -- in the fourth that put New York up 4-1. He left the game after a 67-minute rain delay in the top of the seventh when manager Joe Girardi pulled most of his starters with the Yankees trailing by six runs.

"I didn't expect that many people to be out there after the rain delay considering how hard it was raining when we started the game," Jeter said. "But the fans were incredible. It says a lot about how they feel about their team and more importantly how they feel about the history of their team. I appreciate each and every one that was there."

New York (91-51) leads Boston by 8 1/2 games in the AL East, and Los Angeles by five games in the race for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Baltimore (57-83) ended a 10-game slide against New York and won for the first time in seven games at the new Yankee Stadium. Brian Roberts drove in three runs and Nick Markakis and Cesar Izturis each added two RBIs.

Burnett (11-8, 4.19 ERA) has taken advantage of excellent run support from baseball's highest-scoring team to go 2-0 with a 5.09 ERA in three starts against Baltimore this year. The Yankees have scored 26 runs in those games.

The right-hander is 9-1 with a 5.00 ERA in 12 career starts against the Orioles. Markakis (.344) and Melvin Mora (.348) have enjoyed plenty of success in their careers versus Burnett.

In his last outing, Burnett allowed one run over six innings Monday in a 11-1 victory over Tampa Bay. He had been 0-4 with a 6.54 ERA over his previous seven starts.

It's unclear if Johnny Damon will be available for New York. The left fielder said he woke up Friday with tightness in his lower back after his hamstring felt sore during Thursday's day off and was scratched.

"I don't know how it happened," Damon said. "I'm just hoping this is a one-day thing and hopefully by tomorrow I'll be fine."

The Yankees will get their first look at Orioles rookie Brian Matusz (4-2, 5.26), who is 3-0 with a 4.44 ERA in his last four outings. The left-hander won last Saturday against Texas by limiting the Rangers to four runs over seven innings in a 5-4 victory.