Raul Ibanez Walk-Off Home Runs Lift Yankees Past Orioles

The New York Yankees rallied to beat the Baltimore Orioles in sensational fashion on Wednesday, getting two home runs from Raul Ibanez in a 3-2 win that put them on the brink of reaching the American League Championship Series.

The 40-year-old Ibanez, pinch-hitting for slumping slugger Alex Rodriguez, delivered a game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth and then led off the 12th with another blast deep into the right-field seats to win it.

Starting pitchers Hiroki Kuroda of the Yankees and Baltimore's Miguel Gonzalez dueled until the late innings with the Orioles leading 2-1 going into the ninth on solo home runs by second baseman Ryan Flaherty and rookie third baseman Manny Machado.

The victory gave New York a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five AL Division Series with a chance to finish it off at Yankee Stadium on Thursday.