Just one day after successfully vanquishing the Orioles in the 2014 Bronx opener, the Yankees squared off against the Orioles again. This time, however, things would be very different. The Orioles pummeled Yankees pitching to the tune of 14 runs on 20 hits, beating the Pinstripers 14-5 in front of a sad afternoon crowd at the Stadium. As always, I found some positives to focus on.

Iván Nova was not one of those positives. Bad Nova showed up again today, but Good Iván didn’t have enough in him to suppress the run scoring, like he did in his first start. In all, Nova got lit up for 7 runs on 10 hits in just 3.2 innings. Hey, at least he didn’t walk anybody. I was listening to this one on the radio while at my day job, so I don’t really know what the problem was, but he did give up a 2-run bomb to Adam Jones in the first. I can only imagine that Nova’s pitches were up, and he got hammered. I really hope we’re not going to have a whole first half of this. I really wish this kid would get consistent success, because he has the stuff to do it.

Vidal Nuño was not a positive either. He came in for some long relief in the 5th inning, hoping to stifle the Orioles attack long enough for the Yankees to get back into the game, but that wasn’t meant to be. Nuño gave up 7 runs of his own, although he walked 2 and only gave up 8 hits. He also allowed bombs to both Matt Wieters and Delmon Young in a very ugly afternoon. Nuño is going to be good for this team, but he simply hung a couple too many curve balls in this game and got torched.

OK seriously. There were positives! For one, Alfonso Soriano seems to be getting his game together. He had 2 hits for the second straight night, and even added his first home run of the year in the bottom of the 4th inning. Carlos Beltran also had an RBI double, which was good to see as well. Jacoby Ellsbury went 3-4 in this one with a stolen base. After a dismal first few games, he is officially scorching right now. Now that he’s hitting in the number 3 hole, they’re going to need his bat while Mark Teixeira is gone. More often than not, the Yankees pitching is going to be good. They need to get their hitters going in order to be a complete team. A couple of guys took steps forward today.

Another positive was the one member of the bullpen that didn’t blow the game completely out of his butt. That man was Dellin Betances, who pitched the last 1.2 innings and allowed only 1 hit while striking out 3 Orioles. Betances is going to struggle with his control at times, but when he’s got it going on, he is going to be a very fearsome weapon out of this bullpen.

The last word goes to the Yangervis Solarte MVP Watch, which continued in this one, as the rookie from Venezuela continued his absurd tear. Solarte extended his hitting streak to six games. He doubled twice more in this game, bringing his total to 6 two-baggers in 7 games (6 starts) this season, with 7 runs batted in. He’s like Shane Spencer in 1998, except without all the home runs. His has truly been one of the more fun stories of the young season. It won’t last forever, but it has been a hell of a ride so far. Yangervis!

Featured image courtesy of: Mark Bonifacio/New York Daily News