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NEW YORK -- The Baltimore Orioles eliminated two of their pursuers Thursday night in Toronto.Now the Orioles head to Yankee Stadium to open a three-game series against the New York Yankees looking to further solidify their wild card spot on Friday night.The Orioles (87-72) begin the series tied with Toronto and holding a 1 1/2-game lead over the Detroit Tigers (85-73) for the second wild card. The Seattle Mariners are one-half game behind Detroit.By virtue of their 4-0 win over the Blue Jays on Thursday, New York and Houston were eliminated from playoff contention a year after those teams met in the wild card game.Baltimore has won five of its last six games after getting swept in a four-game series by Boston last week. The latest win featured Ubaldo Jimenez allowing one hit in 6 2/3 outstanding innings along with run-scoring hits by Matt Wieters and Mark Trumbo.All of the guys, they know what we are playing for and everyone is doing their parts, especially the last two games, Jimenez said.Over 162, momentum is going to come and go, Wieters said. But once you start getting closer to the playoffs, momentum is big.The Yankees essentially fell out of contention with a disastrous 3-8 road trip that saw them get swept in a four-game series at Fenway Park two weekends ago. They have won four straight starting with Mondays 7-5 win in Toronto and were mathematically alive until there was one out in the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday.Its not what we wanted, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. Its pretty quiet in there. Probably the quietest Ive ever seen after a win. I think guys realize it came to an end tonight. Its difficult. There were some good things that happened, but again we fell short and we didnt have a successful season.CC Sabathia allowed one run and four hits in 7 1/3 innings in his last start of the season Thursday.You obviously want to have a chance to play, Sabathia said of being eliminated. We had our chances but fell short.While Sabathia is returning next season, first baseman Mark Teixeira is retiring and Friday could be one of his last games.Teixeira has split time with Tyler Austin, but Girardi said the 36-year-old would play Friday. After that, Girardi will check with Teixeira about the next two games.Yovani Gallardo (5-8) starts for the Orioles on Friday. He is 2-7 with a 5.50 ERA in his last 13 starts. Gallardo is coming off one of his better outings as he allowed two runs and six hits in six innings of last Fridays 12-inning victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.Gallardo last faced the Yankees on Aug. 26 in New York and was ripped for eight runs and six hits in 1 1/3 innings of a 14-4 loss. He is 1/3 with a 7.62 ERA in five career starts against New York.Michael Pineda (6-11) will start for the Yankees and makes his 100th career start. Pineda has made a career-high 31 starts this season and is 6-11 with a 4.68 ERA in those starts.Pineda has yet to get a decision in five starts this month but has a 1.68 ERA while compiling 34 of his team-leading 202 strikeouts in those games. Pineda last pitched Sunday in Toronto, when he allowed a run and three hits in 5 1/3 innings.The right-hander is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA in two starts against Baltimore this season. In his career, he is 4-2 with a 3.73 ERA in 11 starts against the Orioles.The teams have split the 16 meeting, with the home team winning 11 times. Baltimore won three series at Camden Yards while the Yankees have taken five of eight meetings in New York. Air Force 1 Sp . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Air Force 1 Basse Italia . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. http://www.airforce1outletitalia.it/scontate-air-force-1-alte-liberty.html . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Air Force 1 Alte Just Do It .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. Nike Sf Air Force 1 Mid Nere . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Auston Matthews delivered an NHL debut for the ages on Wednesday, scoring four goals on a night that wont soon be forgotten in the rich history of the Toronto Maple Leafs.The 19-year-old from Scottsdale, Arizona, chosen first overall in Junes NHL draft, scored on his first three shots against the Senators, with the hat trick prompting visiting Leafs fans at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa to throw hats onto the ice.Three was not enough, however.Matthews took a pass from linemate William Nylander on a 2-on-1 break and scored a fourth goal (on just his sixth shot) with three seconds left in the second period, becoming the first player in modern NHL history to score that many in his debut.The Senators went on to win the NHL season opener 5-4 in overtime.Matthews called the night pretty unbelievable.You dont really draw it up like that, he told Sportsnet after the game.It was a record-breaking evening all around for Matthews.The hat trick was the quickest for a player making his NHL debut (since 1943-44). And he became the fifth player overall to notch a hat trick?in his first game, joining Derek Stepan of the New York Rangers (2010), Fabian Brunnstrom of the Dallas Stars (2008), Real Cloutier of the Quebec Nordiques (1979) and Alex Smart of the Montreal Canadiens (1943).Matthews scored on his first shot at 8:21 into the first period, snapping in a pass from Zach Hyman during a scrum around the net.His second goal came with 5:42 left in the first, after he dangled through a pair of Senators near the blue line. After briefly losing possession, he stole the puck from two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson along the boards, then beat goalie Craig Anderson with an odd-angle forehand.Matthews put Toronto ahead 3-2 with a one-timer from inside the right circle on a feed from Morgan Rielly?at 1:25 into the second period.He then netted historic No. 4 with three seconds left in the second period, breaking a 3-3 tie.Despite the historic first game, Matthews took responsibility for the loss after failing to pick up Turris coming into the Toronto zone. Turris took in a pass from Mark Stone with Matthews chasing, set himself and fired a shot by Frederik Andersen.That last play was 100 percent my fault, he said. We came here to win and we didnt get that done.According to Elias Sports Bureau research, Matthews is the third-youngest player with four goals in a game, surpassed only by 18-year-olds Jack Hamilton (1943-44) and Bob Carpenter (1981-82).And at his current pace, Matthews will break Wayne Gretzkys NHL record of 894 goals in late February 2019, during his third NHL season and his 224th NHL game. (Gretzky had 186 goals in his first 224 NHL games.)After Wednesday nights game, however, Matthews downplayed any notion of ratcheted-up expectations.?You dont get too many of those games, said Matthews, the 12th first overall pick to scoore in his NHL debut.dddddddddddd Its just one game. Take it, move forward and focus on the next one. It just happened to be a great night individually, and especially for our line.His parents, Brian and Ema Matthews, were at the game Wednesday night, and the look on their faces after each goal translated pure emotion.It meant a lot, Matthews said of having his parents there. Pretty special moment, not just for myself but for them, as well. They have been a pretty huge part of getting me to this point, so it was only right for them to be here for the first one.?Matthews Mania no doubt already is sweeping the NHL, but dont be in a rush to buy any of his jerseys just yet.The NHLs official store does not have any Matthews jerseys ready to go, so if fans want to purchase one, they have to customize it.The Leafs, who finished 30th overall in the standings in 2015-16, were accused by many of tanking last season in their attempt to secure the best possible odds in the NHL draft lottery to get Matthews. They lost out the previous year in the lottery, with the Edmonton Oilers taking Connor McDavid first overall.This time, the Leafs won the lottery, and there wasnt any hesitation in making Matthews the first overall pick. He is at the heart of a massive rebuild. The Leafs Stanley Cup drought dates back to 1967, and the current regime led by president Brendan Shanahan, general manager Lou Lamoriello and coach Mike Babcock is intent on making this youth movement work.I thought just for me, from my perspective, since Ive been the Leafs coach, thats the best night Ive had since Ive been here by 10 miles, not even close, because now we have an opportunity, Babcock said after Wednesday nights defeat.When you look at [Mitch] Marner -- I know Matthews scored all the goals -- I thought Marner in the first half of the game might have been the best player. I thought Nylander was great. I thought Hyman was great. I thought [Connor] Brown was great. I thought [Sam] Carrick was great. I thought [Nikita] Zaitsev was great. Pretty good night for us. Did we want the other point? Absolutely. The way we controlled the puck and controlled the game, youve got to win, and we didnt.Matthews arrives with a ton of hype in hockeys biggest market, but he has already shown maturity beyond his years.Hes a man, Babcock said. Hes 19 years old but he acts like hes 27. He has great maturity. If you meet his mom and dad, youre thoroughly impressed with the kind of people they are and the respect he has for his mom and sisters, the kind of guy he is.Dont get me wrong, we wouldve drafted him anyway, but that makes him more special.Information from The Associated Press, ESPN Stats & Information and ESPNs Darren Rovell was used in this report. ' ' '