ALDS MATCHUP: Yankees vs. Orioles

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FIRST BASE

YANKEES: MARK TEIXEIRA
.251 average, .475 SLG, 24 HR, 84 RBI
Injuries limited to Teixeira to just 20 plate appearances since Aug. 27, and he has just two hits during that span. One of those was a home run, though.

ORIOLES: MARK REYNOLDS
.221 average, 23 HR, 65 R, 69 RBI
Reynolds turned on the power in September, blasting nine home runs and driving in 24 runners.

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SECOND BASE

YANKEES: ROBINSON CANO
.313 average, 33 HR, 105 R, 94 RBI
Cano's regular season numbers place him in the MVP discussion and he finished the season on a hot streak, going 24-for-43 (.558).

ORIOLES: RYAN FLAHERTY
.216 average, 7 HR, 41 R, 28 RBI
Robert Andino (.211, 7 HR) also sees time at second base, but Flaherty started each game of the Tampa Bay series. Whoever plays, Andino and Flaherty are an offensive push.

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THIRD BASE

YANKEES: ALEX RODRIGUEZ
.272 average, 18 HR, 74 R, 57 RBI
A-Rod has only six extra-base hits since recovering from a non-displaced fracture in his left handa span of 129 plate appearances.

ORIOLES: MANNY MACHADO
.262 average, 7 HR, 24 R, 26 RBI
One of the Orioles' top prospects, Machado has demonstrated keen baseball sense and solid fielding.

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SHORTSTOP

YANKEES: DEREK JETER
.316 average, .362 OBP, 15 HR, 99 R
Jeter led the majors in hits, and had 11 more than the next closest batter, Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera.

ORIOLES: J.J. HARDY
.238 average, 22 HR, 85 R, 68 RBI
One of the top fielding shortstops in the league, he's experienced a power resurgence during his two seasons in Baltimore.

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LEFT FIELD

YANKEES: ICHIRO SUZUKI
.283 average, 9 HR, 77 R, 29 SB
Ichiro hit .322 and slugged .454 after his mid-season trade to the Yankees.

ORIOLES: NATE MCLOUTH
.241 average, 7 HR, 39 R, 12 SB
McClouth hadn't played regularly since 2009 with the Pirates. But injuries to the Baltimore outfield gave him a shot.

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CENTER FIELD

YANKEES: CURTIS GRANDERSON
.232 average, 43 HR, 102 R, 106 RBI
Granderson became only the fifth Yankee to hit at least 40 home runs in back-to-back seasons, joining Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig and Jason Giambi.

ORIOLES: ADAM JONES
.287 average, 32 HR, 103 R, 82 RBI
Jones signed a six-year, $85.5 million contract extension with the O's in May. It was the largest contract in Orioles history.

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RIGHT FIELD

YANKEES: NICK SWISHER
.272 average, .364 OBP, 24 HR, 93 RBI
Swisher finished the year third on the Yankees in RBIs and tied for third in home runs.

ORIOLES: CHRIS DAVIS
.270 average, 33 HR, 85 RBI, 75 R
Davis came up as a power-hitting first baseman with the Rangers, but the Orioles finally found a home for him in right after Nick Markakis was injured.

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CATCHER

YANKEES: RUSSELL MARTIN
.211 average, 21 HR, 50 R, 53 RBI
After hitting below .230 every month of the season through August, Martin turned it on in September, batting .258 with seven home runs, his most in a month this season.

ORIOLES: MATT WIETERS
.249 average, 23 HR, 67 R, 83 RBI
Wieters has led a solid pitching staff that has seen 12 different pitchers start at least two games.

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DESIGNATED HITTER

YANKEES: RAUL IBANEZ
.240 average, 19 HR, 62 RBI, 50 R
All of Ibanez's 19 home runs have come against righthanded pitchers. He's 8-for-25 with two homers as a pinch-hitter.

ORIOLES: JIM THOME
.252 average, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 17 R
Thome began his season with the Phillies, and has maintained his good eye at the plate (.344 on-base percentage).

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STARTING PITCHERS

YANKEES
71-50, 4.05 ERA, 7.89 K/9, 2.45 BB/9
CC Sabathia finished the year on a roll, going 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in his final three starts. Hiroki Kuroda and Phil Hughes shared the staff lead in wins with 16 each and Andy Pettitte posted a 2.87 ERA in injury-interrupted comeback season.

ORIOLES
61-58, 4.42 ERA, 6.94 K/9, 2.95 BB/9
The Orioles used 12 different starting pitchers and only had one player, Wei-Yin Chen (12-11, 4.02 ERA), make more than 20 starts. Chris Tillman (9-3, 2.93), Miguel Gonzalez (9-4, 3.36) and Steve Johnson (3-0, 2.86 ERA) should make up the rest of the postseason rotation.

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CLOSER

YANKEES: RAFAEL SORIANO
2-1, 2.26 ERA, 42 saves
Soriano stepped into Mariano Rivera's shoes without missing a beat, finishing third in the AL in saves. He's allowed at least one earned run in three of his last four appearances.

ORIOLES: JIM JOHNSON
2-1, 2.49 ERA, 51 saves
In his first season as a full-time closer, Johnson was a revelation. He's been effective throughout his career, but his 51 saves in 2012 led the majors.

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BENCH

YANKEES
Eric Chavez is hitting .281 with 16 home runs and is capable of playing first or third base. Catcher Chris Stewart is hitting .241 but would only be used if the Yankees had to pinch-run for Russell Martin. After a demotion to the minors, Eduardo Nunez has played himself onto the postseason roster with his speed and strong hitting. He's capable of multiple positions, but is shaky on defense. Brett Gardner is the Yankees' best speed threat.

ORIOLES
Most of the Orioles depth is on the field, as injuries to key players such as Nolan Reimold and Nick Markakis, necessitated part-time players taking on larger roles. Robert Andino can fill-in all around the infield, Xavier Avery (.223, 1 HR) is the primary defensive replacement in the outfield and ex-Met Endy Chavez (.203, 2 HR) rounds out the most used bench pieces.

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BULLPEN

YANKEES
24-17, 3.43 ERA, 8.92 K/9, 3.20 BB/9
David Robertson has the fourth-highest strikeouts per nine innings rate in the AL. David Phelps emerged as a reliable spot-starter/bullpen piece, Clay Rapada (3-0, 2.82 ERA) and Boone Logan (7-2, 3.74) are reliable against lefties and Joba Chamberlain is beginning to look like himself after multiple injuries.

ORIOLES
32-11, 3.00 ERA, 7.49 K/9, 2.87 BB/9
The bullpen has been the biggest reason for the Orioles' success. Baltimore is 16-2 in extra-inning games and 29-9 in one-run games thanks to a mostly unheralded crew. The go-to guys are Darren O'Day (7-1, 2.28 ERA), Pedro Strop (5-2, 2.44), Troy Patton (1-0, 2.43) and ex-Yankee Luis Ayala (5-5, 2.64).

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MANAGER

YANKEES: JOE GIRARDI
The Yankees have reached the playoffs for the fourth time in Girardi's five years as manager, and they're the AL East champs for the third time. The Yankees also clinched the best record in the AL under the statistic-minded former catcher, who ponders each move with the help of a handy binder filled with all kinds of numbers and matchups.

ORIOLES: BUCK SHOWALTER
Showalter improved the Orioles by 24 games over their 2011 performance, finishing the season with a 93-69 recordtheir best record since 1997, which was also the last season the O's made the playoffs. Working with one legitimate star in Adam Jones, Showalter put major heat on the Yankees the last few months of the season.

ALDS MATCHUP: Yankees vs. Orioles

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