CC Sabathia tosses 8 crisp innings as New York Yankees beat Baltimore Orioles 4-1

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Sabathia shuts down Orioles again, Yankees win 4-1

NEW YORK — CC Sabathia pitched eight strong innings in another sterling start against Baltimore, and Randy Winn hit a three-run homer to lead the New York Yankees to a 4-1 victory over the Orioles on Monday night.

Sabathia allowed one run — Matt Wieters’ second-inning homer — and six hits while improving to 11-1 in 16 career starts against Baltimore. The big left-hander also beat the Birds in his previous outing, pitching into the eighth inning of New York’s 8-3 win at Camden Yards last Wednesday.

Alex Rodriguez singled and scored during a four-run fourth in his return to the lineup after a day off, but catcher Jorge Posada left after five innings with right calf tightness. The extent of the injury was unclear, but the Yankees announced he was to undergo an MRI on Monday night.

Joba Chamberlain pitched the ninth for his first save this season.

Jeremy Guthrie (0-4) turned in a solid start for Baltimore, except for the rocky fourth. The right-hander pitched seven innings of six-hit ball after getting knocked out in the fifth in his previous outing, also against New York.

Guthrie drew some criticism from Yankees manager Joe Girardi when he plunked Posada with a pitch on Wednesday, sidelining the switch-hitter for two starts with a swollen right knee. But Guthrie, who also hit New York first baseman Mark Teixeira with a pitch during spring training, exhibited solid control in this one, with just two walks on his line.

Wieters’ third homer gave Baltimore an early lead but the Orioles, who were coming off a three-game sweep of Boston, couldn’t hold on.

Nick Swisher, who went 3 for 3, drove in Rodriguez with a tying single in the fourth. Brett Gardner then singled before Winn hit a 1-0 pitch from Guthrie into the Yankees’ bullpen in right-center for his first homer since April 25, 2009, for San Francisco at Arizona.

Winn’s first homer with New York came on the same day good friend Dave Roberts announced he is being treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Winn played with Roberts for two seasons with the Giants and said before the game that he was confident his buddy would pull through.

Sabathia (4-1) allowed a season-high 11 hits in his last start against Baltimore but was much sharper at home in the opener of a three-game set. The only hiccup he had came in the seventh, when Girardi visited him on the mound after he exchanged words with plate umpire Bill Hohn.

NOTES: RHP Javier Vazquez’s next start for the Yankees has been pushed back to Monday. Vazquez is 1-3 with a 9.78 ERA in five games this year, and Girardi is hoping the extra rest will help him snap out of his funk. … Orioles RHP Koji Uehara (strained left hamstring) was scheduled to pitch for Triple-A Norfolk on Monday night in his fourth rehab game. He will be off for the next two days and could rejoin the team in Minnesota. “I don’t know if that will happen yet,” manager Dave Trembley said. “We’ll see after the reports we get tonight, and see where we go from there.” … Baltimore DH Luke Scott got the night off. Scott has a .187 batting average in 23 games this season.