Orioles' Davis, Chen even AL Division Series with Yankees

• Ichiro scores on a crazy slide at home in the first inning
• Orioles' Wei-Yin Chen won his postseason debut
• The Orioles even the series at 1-1 with the Yankees

AL Division Series, Game 2 from Baltimore's Camden Yards.

Orioles 3, Yankees 2: Series tied 1-1.

State of the Series: The Orioles put the heat back on the Yankees, who need to win two of three at home. But both teams know where the pressure is. And don't think Orioles manager Buck Showalter wasn't adding something for his opponents to think about when he said, "I understand what time of year it is when it's all goat-hero time. Our guys get it." So do the Yankees.

Game 1 Pivot Point: Showalter usually runs to the mound as if he can't wait to make a pitching change. One of his strengths is managing the Orioles bullpen and this was a crucial moment he certainly was excited about. Starter Wei-Yin Chen got into the seventh inning with a lead that had just been cut to one run. Alex Rodriguez was coming up with a runner on first and this is why sidewinding right-hander Darren O'Day is a key component of that bullpen. O'Day struck out Rodriguez, leaving Brian Matusz and Jim Johnson to finish relief job.

Man of the Moment: Chen calls himself a rookie but he's not totally unprepared for this. He had 10 post-season starts over the past four seasons in Japan. His composure was crucial this night, getting out of the first after Ichiro Suzuki's gyrations to avoid a tag and score, and getting a pop-up and grounder to escape a bases-loaded, one-out spot in the fourth.
Needing a mulligan: Orioles rookie Manny Machado is hitless in seven at-bats and hasn't gotten the ball out of the infield in the series.

What you missed on TV: J.J. Hardy fouled a ball into the press box during the fifth inning. It's normal etiquette for the media member who gets the ball to toss it to a kid. This time, the writer flipped the ball to not an adult but the only one with three sections wearing a Yankees jacket. And you think Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez get abuse heaped on them by Orioles fans. For the record, the Yankees fan gave the ball to a kid.

Gambling managers: Showalter and Joe Girardi each took a chance at DH and Girardi was the one who had it come back to bite him. Showalter tried powerful lefty Jim Thome against left-handed Andy Pettitte and though he was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, it didn't hurt. Eduardo Nunez, batting ninth, was Girardi's choice. Nunez did have a blooper double to set up the Yankees second run but the game found him at a crucial point in the fourth and he popped up with the bases loaded and one out and the Yankees down one run.