BALTIMORE -- Can the Yankees' bus travel in reverse all the way back to New York?
Because that's how the New York Yankees are going into their one-game season against the Houston Astros on Tuesday. Full-speed reverse.
They completed a horrific weekend in Charm City by getting shellacked by the Baltimore Orioles 9-4, but no matter. In Phoenix, the Arizona Diamondbacks were doing the Yankees' dirty work for them, beating the Houston Astros 5-3. So the game will take place at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. But the Yankees, losers of six of their last seven, can't feel good about their chances of winning it.
Thumbs up: Surprisingly, they're all from the offense. Dustin Ackley tripled, singled, scored the Yankees' second run and drove in two with ground outs. Didi Gregorius doubled and tripled, the latter driving in Ackley in the sixth. Greg Bird doubled in the second and scored the Yankees' first run and drove in their third with a seventh-inning single.
Thumbs down: Almost too many to list. Michael Pineda, who in his biggest game as a Yankee could only give them 3 2/3 innings, allowed four earned runs on five hits. Worst of all, he needed 83 pitches, necessitating Yankees manager Joe Girardi go to his bullpen way earlier than he wanted to. Girardi is included for going to Chris Capuano to replace Pineda. Even though it was early, Justin Wilson or even rookie James Pazos would have been a better choice. Capuano faced three batters in the fourth, with these results -- a laser by Ryan Flaherty that caromed off Capuano's left leg and flew past Dustin Ackley at second and became a double; an intentional walk to Nolan Reimold, and a two-RBI single to Gerardo Parra, who had six hits in Saturdays doubleheader sweep. The only reason Capuano got out of the inning was because Parra was thrown out at second trying to stretch, although replays seemed to show he beat Didi Gregorius' tag. Bryan Mitchell gave up a long two-run home run to Chris Davis in the fifth to make it 7-1. Jacoby Ellsbury, who went 0-for-3 in Saturday's nightcap loss, had a golden opportunity to drive in the tying run in the fourth after Ackley's two-out triple to center followed by a walk to Gregorius. But after falling behind 0-2, Ellsbury tapped out to first to end the inning. He went 0-for-5 Sunday. The 1-2-3 hitters in the Yankees' lineup -- Ellsbury, Brett Gardner and Alex Rodriguez -- went 0-for-13 with two walks. And of course, again Girardi, who brought closer Andrew Miller in to face two batters in the eighth, only to pull the lefty in favor of righty Caleb Cotham to face the left-handed hitting Davis. Daivs crushed Cotham's second pitch for a two-run homer, his 47th of the season, to make it a 9-4 game.
Next: Flight home Sunday night, some licking of wounds Monday and probably a late workout at the stadium in preparation for the one-game season to come Tuesday -- Masahiro Tanaka vs. Houston Astros ace Dallas Keuchel. That game is an 8:08 p.m. start.