BALTIMORE (AP)—Former Baltimore Orioles star Cal Ripken Jr. will lead baseball
and softball clinics in Japan as part of his upcoming nine-day trip as a sports
diplomat on behalf of the U.S. State Department.

Ripken will be joined by former Orioles teammate Brady Anderson at the
clinics in Tokyo, Takarazuka, Kyoto and Ofunato, a city still recovering from
the March earthquake and tsunami.

Japanese baseball great Sachio Kinugasa will also join the pair in Tokyo and
Ofunato.

The trip will run from Nov. 8-16.

Ripken earned the nickname “Iron Man” for playing in 2,632 consecutive
games. Along the way, he broke the Major League Baseball record held by Lou
Gehrig (2,130) and the mark in Japan set by Kinugasa (2,215).

THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO — J.P. Arencibia’s two-out single in the bottom of the ninth drove in the winning run as the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to edge the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 on Saturday.

Toronto tied the game earlier in the inning on a wild pitch.

Baltimore took a 4-3 lead on Vladimir Guerrero’s double in the eighth but closer Kevin Gregg, a former Blue Jay, couldn’t hold the lead in the ninth.

Gregg (0-3) gave up a two-out walk to Kelly Johnson and single to Jose Molina. Chris Woodward ran for Molina and former Orioles pitcher Adam Loewen of Surrey, B.C. batted for Dewayne Wise and was hit by a pitch.

Arencibia pinch-hit for Mike McCoy and a wild pitch brought Johnson in with the tying run before Arencibia won it for the Jays (73-73).

Toronto starter Henderson Alvarez didn’t figure in the decision after allowing nine hits and three runs over seven innings. The 21-year-old right-hander allowed one walk and fanned four before Jesse Litsch (6-3) took over in the eighth in a 3-3 tie.

Robert Andino led off the eighth against Litsch with a double and scored on a one-out double by Guerrero to give the Orioles (58-86) a 4-3 lead.

Orioles starter Rick VandenHurk allowed three runs and three hits in 2 1-3 innings, surrendering homers to Jose Bautista — his major league-leading 41st of the season — and Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C. He was replaced by Zach Phillips.

Toronto shortstop Yunel Escobar left in the second after being hit on the left elbow with a pitch from VandenHurk. X-rays were negative and he’s listed as day to day.

McCoy ran for Escobar and took over at shortstop.

Consecutive first-inning singles by Nick Markakis, Guerrero and Chris Davis put Baltimore ahead 1-0.

A leadoff walk to Escobar and Bautista’s homer in the bottom of the inning gave Toronto a 2-1 lead.

Kyle Hudson bunted for a single and took on second on Alvarez’s throwing error to lead off the second. Shortstop Pedro Florimon, playing his first major-league game, also bunted but was called out on a close play that brought manager Buck Showalter out to argue.

Hudson took third on the sacrifice and scored on Matt Angle’s single.

Lawrie countered in the bottom of the second with his ninth homer since making his major-league debut in Baltimore on Aug. 5.

The Orioles tied it again in the third on Guerrero’s single and Davis’s double. Davis was thrown out at home by centre-fielder Wise on a single by Josh Bell.

NOTES: Attendance at Rogers Centre was 17,742.. ….Toronto DH Edwin Encarnacion didn’t play due to a left shoulder strain picked up when he struck out in the seventh inning of Friday’s 2-0 loss to Baltimore … Orioles centre-fielder Adam Jones did not start Saturday because his left ankle was swollen after taking a foul a ball Friday night … Dustin McGowan (0-0, 6.75 earned-run average) will make his first start for the Blue Jays since July 8, 2008 when he faces Tommy Hunter (3-3, 5.28 ERA) on Sunday.

TORONTO – J.P. Arencibia’s two-out single in the bottom of the ninth drove in the winning run as the Toronto Blue Jays rallied to edge the Baltimore Orioles 5-4 on Saturday.

Toronto tied the game earlier in the inning on a wild pitch.

Baltimore took a 4-3 lead on Vladimir Guerrero’s double in the eighth but closer Kevin Gregg, a former Blue Jay, couldn’t hold the lead in the ninth.

Gregg (0-3) gave up a two-out walk to Kelly Johnson and single to Jose Molina. Chris Woodward ran for Molina and former Orioles pitcher Adam Loewen of Surrey, B.C. batted for Dewayne Wise and was hit by a pitch.

Arencibia pinch-hit for Mike McCoy and a wild pitch brought Johnson in with the tying run before Arencibia won it for the Jays (73-73).

Toronto starter Henderson Alvarez didn’t figure in the decision after allowing nine hits and three runs over seven innings. The 21-year-old right-hander allowed one walk and fanned four before Jesse Litsch (6-3) took over in the eighth in a 3-3 tie.

Robert Andino led off the eighth against Litsch with a double and scored on a one-out double by Guerrero to give the Orioles (58-86) a 4-3 lead.

Orioles starter Rick VandenHurk allowed three runs and three hits in 2 1-3 innings, surrendering homers to Jose Bautista — his major league-leading 41st of the season — and Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C. He was replaced by Zach Phillips.

Toronto shortstop Yunel Escobar left in the second after being hit on the left elbow with a pitch from VandenHurk. X-rays were negative and he’s listed as day to day.

McCoy ran for Escobar and took over at shortstop.

Consecutive first-inning singles by Nick Markakis, Guerrero and Chris Davis put Baltimore ahead 1-0.

A leadoff walk to Escobar and Bautista’s homer in the bottom of the inning gave Toronto a 2-1 lead.

Kyle Hudson bunted for a single and took on second on Alvarez’s throwing error to lead off the second. Shortstop Pedro Florimon, playing his first major-league game, also bunted but was called out on a close play that brought manager Buck Showalter out to argue.

Hudson took third on the sacrifice and scored on Matt Angle’s single.

Lawrie countered in the bottom of the second with his ninth homer since making his major-league debut in Baltimore on Aug. 5.

The Orioles tied it again in the third on Guerrero’s single and Davis’s double. Davis was thrown out at home by centre-fielder Wise on a single by Josh Bell.

NOTES: Attendance at Rogers Centre was 17,742.. ….Toronto DH Edwin Encarnacion didn’t play due to a left shoulder strain picked up when he struck out in the seventh inning of Friday’s 2-0 loss to Baltimore . . . Orioles centre-fielder Adam Jones did not start Saturday because his left ankle was swollen after taking a foul a ball Friday night . . . Dustin McGowan (0-0, 6.75 earned-run average) will make his first start for the Blue Jays since July 8, 2008 when he faces Tommy Hunter (3-3, 5.28 ERA) on Sunday.

Read more: New York Yankees, Baseball, Baltimore Orioles, Curtis Granderson, Ivan Nova, Local Pro

BALTIMORE (AP) – Curtis Granderson homered twice to take over the major league lead with 38, rookie Ivan Nova won his 10th straight decision, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-3 Sunday night for a split of a day-night doubleheader.

Granderson hit a three-run drive in the third inning and a solo shot in the seventh. He moved past Jose Bautista, who has 37 homers, and assumed the major league lead in RBIs with 107.

In the first game, rookie Zach Britton allowed four hits over seven innings to lead the Orioles to a 2-0 victory. It was Deter Jeter’s 2,402nd game with New York, breaking a tie with Mickey Mantle for most in a Yankees uniform.

But Jeter fouled a ball off his right knee in the third inning, and although he shook off the pain to finish the game, the Yankees captain was a late scratch in the nightcap with a bruised knee.

The second game was tied at 3 before New York hit three straight homers in a four-run sixth. After Robinson Cano connected with a man on, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones also went deep. It was the first time the Yankees hit three successive homers since May 20, 2009, against Baltimore.

Nova (14-4) gave up three runs and seven hits in seven-plus innings, striking out seven and walking two. The right-hander has won seven straight starts and is 10-0 in 11 outings since June 3.

Brian Matusz (1-7) allowed six runs and six hits – including three home runs – in 5 1-3 innings. Adam Jones had two RBIs for the Orioles, whose six-game winning streak ended.

Baltimore led 2-0 before Granderson hit his first homer. He has 11 career two-homer games, including four this season.

In the first game, Britton allowed four singles, struck out five and walked one before being pulled after throwing a career-high 120 pitches. It was a vivid contrast from his previous start against the Yankees, when he yielded nine runs and got only one out in a 17-3 loss July 30.

“I wasn’t thinking about getting revenge or anything,” Britton said. “You have to have a short memory.”

Britton (8-9) has given up only one run over 12 innings since coming off the disabled list (strained left shoulder) on Aug. 22. Before going on the DL, he surrendered 23 runs in three starts.

“Not only was it like a break for me physically, but mentally, too,” Britton said of his time off.

The game was scoreless until the seventh, when Nick Markakis doubled and Vladimir Guerrero singled. Baltimore added a run in the eighth when Mark Reynolds led off with his third hit and scored on a two-out single by J.J. Hardy.

Jim Johnson pitched a perfect eighth inning and Kevin Gregg worked the ninth for his 19th save, getting Alex Rodriguez to hit into a double play after giving up a one-out single to Mark Teixeira, who had three hits.

Cano went 0 for 3, ending his 17-game hitting streak. He had also hit in 18 consecutive games at Camden Yards.

The Yankees failed to get a runner past first base in their first shutout loss since June 13.

Bartolo Colon (8-9) gave up two runs and seven hits in 7 2-3 innings. He had a two-hitter through six innings before faltering. He has lost his last three starts and is 2-6 in his last eight decisions.

But he considered this effort to be a breakthrough.

“I feel very happy. Thank God that everything is back together,” he said through a translator. “We’ll see how far we’re going to go.”

NOTES: The nightcap was rescheduled from Saturday’s doubleheader rainout. The other game will be made up on Sept. 8 at 1:05 p.m. … Five of Baltimore’s six shutouts this season have come at home. … Britton’s 120 pitches were most by an Oriole this season. … New York intends to activate RHP Freddy Garcia (cut index finger) from the DL to start in Monday’s series finale. Alfredo Simon (4-6) will pitch for the Orioles.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The Baltimore Orioles selected Farragut High School senior catcher Nicky Delmonico in the sixth round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Tuesday.

Delmonico, son of former University of Tennessee baseball coach Rod Delmonico, was the 185th overall pick.

More details to follow online and in Wednesday’s News Sentinel.