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Chien-Ming Wang struggles as New York Yankees fall, 7-5, to Baltimore Orioles
 Chien-Ming Wang walks to the dugout after leaving the game in the fourth inning against the Orioles.
There's reason for hope. The Yankees started a season 0-2 for the first time since 1998, when they began 1-4. That team bounced back to finish with 114 victories, then an American League record. This team? Only time will tell. However, if the Yankees hope to get off to the strong start they had hoped for, the team's starters must improve on the first two games. Chien-Ming Wang followed the lead of teammate CC Sabathia by getting shelled. Wang, pitching in his first game since injuring his foot last June, surrendered seven runs in 3 2/3 innings, which he labored through without the use of an effective sinker. "It's been so long," Wang said through a translator. "I just wanted to win so bad. Hopefully, I can get my sinker back as soon as possible." Wang fought with his own mechanics. He struggled to stay on top of the ball, his arm dropped too low in his delivery; his front leg was too quick. Though Wang felt confident about his sinker in the bullpen, things changed when he took the mound in the game. For a sinkerball pitcher missing high in the strike zone, the result was predictable. The Orioles chased Wang in the fourth inning, when he gave up five runs including a two-run homer to Nick Markakis. "It seemed like he really couldn't finish pitches, he couldn't get the sinker-ball going," Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said. "It looked like he was drifting forward and his arm was behind him." While Wang labored, Orioles counterpart Koji Uehara looked sharp in his big league debut. The longtime Japanese star -- and former Yomiuri Giants teammate of Hideki Matsui -- Uehara hit his spots against the Yankees. His fastball was in the high 80s but Uehara kept the Yankees off balance, allowing just one run in five innings. "It's a guy that we'd never seen before," Girardi said. "He had an excellent changeup and an excellent split." The Yankees rallied from a six-run deficit at one point to make it a two-run game in the ninth. Derek Jeter hit a two-run homer and Mark Teixeira, who had been hitless in the first two games, doubled home Johnny Damon to trim the deficit to two. But the rally came too late. "I understand how people would make a big deal out of it," Jeter said. "That's usually the way it goes. But for us as players, you usually try to be optimistic. You point out some of the good things. I thought it was good that we had some good at-bats there in the ninth inning even though we were down a bunch of runs."
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