NEW YORK -- Carlos Beltran felt he was finally emerging from a miserable start to his career with the New York Yankees. Wholesale Vans Shoes Online . One swing Friday night made him certain of it. The slumping slugger launched a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, giving New York a 5-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. "Thank God the past couple of days I would say Ive been feeling more comfortable at the plate and Ive been putting good at-bats together," Beltran said. "I just felt confident that I was going to do something positive." Beltran signed a $45 million, three-year contract with New York this winter after an All-Star season with the St. Louis Cardinals. But he has struggled with inconsistency and an elbow injury has limited him to the designated hitter role since early June. Beltran began the game batting just .221. But right after Brian McCann lined an RBI single, Beltran hit a drive off Zach Britton (3-1) far over the left-field wall. It was the first time this year that the Yankees won in their final at-bat at home, and it was their fourth straight victory overall. "Its been somewhat of a struggle then he got hurt. But you can just see him starting to square the balls up," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "That was a tremendous at-bat." The Yankees kept coming up empty with runners in scoring position until the ninth. Brett Gardner led off the inning with a single, then Derek Jeter struck out looking and Jacoby Ellsbury flied out. Mark Teixeira followed with a walk and McCann singled home a run, setting up Beltrans first walkoff homer since 2008, for the New York Mets. Britton was already off the field by the time Beltran made it to home plate, where he was mobbed by his teammates and then got doused during a postgame interview. "He just had a couple of sinkers up and they made him pay for it," Orioles manager Buck Showlater said of Britton. "I cannot really fault him, all things considered. He let it rip and it did not work for him tonight." David Huff (1-0) gave up Steve Pearces RBI single in the ninth but got the win. Leading 3-1 heading into the ninth, the Orioles missed a chance to pull even with the Yankees for second place in the AL East. "It is frustrating. These are games we want to win right now but you just have to turn the page," said Britton, who has two blown saves in 11 chances. "You cannot just sit here and mope about it. Go out there and make the adjustment." Coming off a decisive three-game sweep of the division-leading Toronto Blue Jays, New York jumped out to a quick lead on Teixeiras RBI double. Then they fizzled, wasting three chances with the bases loaded and failing to capitalize on a career high-tying six walks from Ubaldo Jimenez. "We just couldnt seem to get the big hit when we needed it," Girardi said. Centre fielder Adam Jones threw a runner out at home plate in the second and hit an RBI single in the sixth, helping the Orioles take a 2-1 lead. Nick Hundley doubled for the Orioles first hit off Hiroki Kuroda leading off the sixth and scored on Pearces one-out double. Pearce had an RBI single in the ninth three batters after third baseman Yangervis Solarte made a fielding error to open the inning. The Yankees loaded the bases for the first of three times in the second but Beltran, who doubled leading off, tried scoring on Gardners fly to medium centre field. Jones throw reached Hundley on one perfect hop, and the catcher had plenty of time to apply the tag for the double play. Jimenez loaded bases in the fifth with three straight two-out walks. He needed one pitch to get out of the jam: Teixeira grounded to first base on the first pitch he saw, keeping it 1-0. The Yankees loaded the bases again with two outs in the sixth -- a single and two walks -- but this time Jimenez wasnt given a chance to quash the rally. T.J. McFarland was brought in to face Gardner. Second baseman Ryan Flaherty got the save, though, ranging deep behind second base to field Gardners hard one-hopper and making a swift, backhand flip to shortstop J.J. Hardy covering for the forceout. NOTES: Yankees 2B Brian Roberts singled in the second for his 1,500th career hit. He had 1,452 with the Orioles before signing with New York this off-season. ... Yankees RHP Michael Pineda (60-day, right shoulder muscle) could begin throwing soon. Pineda says he feels good but he had an MRI to make sure the muscle is fully healed before he starts a program, Girardi said. ... Up next: Orioles RHP Bud Norris (6-5) goes against Yankees LHP Vidal Nuno (1-3). Vans Shoes Clearance . Dancevic won his singles match on Friday, defeating Go Soeda 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-1, to even the best-of-five series at a game apiece. World No. 18 Kei Nishikori defeated Peter Polansky in the opening match, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Discount Vans Shoes . For the Bombers it has been a combination of things coming together at the most inappropriate moments in time. Quarterback, injuries, Canadian talent or depth and leadership are all issues. Trust me when I say being a Bomber is no fun right now in a city that embraces football the way Winnipeg does. While Buck Pierce will be getting another shot, I think Max Hall does deserve another opportunity. http://www.vansoutletstore.com/ . Trailing by a goal after 20 minutes of play, Joe Pavelski responded with three goals and an assist as the Sharks snapped a two-game losing skid with a 5-2 victory over the struggling Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Clippers chose not to speak publicly about owner Donald Sterling before they faced the Golden State Warriors for Game 4 of their first-round series Sunday. Instead, they made a silent protest to generate attention. In response to Sterlings purported comments urging a woman to not bring black people to his teams games, the Clippers let their uniforms become a show of solidarity. They ran out of the tunnel wearing their usual warmups. Then they huddled at centre court and tossed the outer layer of their warmups to the ground, going through their pregame routine with their red Clippers shirts on inside out to hide the teams logo. Players also wore black wristbands or armbands during the game, which they lost 118-97. They also donned black socks with their normal jerseys. "Its just us, only us. Were all we got," Clippers point guard Chris Paul could be heard shouting to teammates before they ran out. The Warriors announced sellout crowd of 19,596, decked out in gold shirts, booed the Clippers -- as they always do -- during team introductions. Sterlings wife was sitting courtside across from the Clippers bench. Commissioner Adam Silver had said Donald Sterling would not be at the game. Clippers coach Doc Rivers said prior to the game that he would remain the only one to speak for the team on the issue because players wanted to remain focused on basketball. Afterward, Rivers said he knew what his players had planned but didnt voice his opinion. Rivers said he wasnt thrilled about the demonstration, though he didnt elaborate why. Even he, though, acknowledged that staying focused has not been easy since TMZ released the alleged recording of Sterling. "Our message is to play," Rivers said. "Our message is that were going to let no one and nothing stop us from what we want to do. And I think thats a good message. I really do. I think thats the message were trying to send. And if we can pull this off all the way, I think that would be a terrific message." In an overcrowded postgame locker room, most of the Clippers players deflected comment or refused to answer questions related to Sterling -- other than to say they remain united and focused on basketball. Shooting guard J.J. Redick, who is white, said the controversy has impacted everybody on the team and around the league. He also admitted it might have affected their preparation. "Maybe our focus wasnt in the right place would be the easiest way to say it," Redick said. "I didnt get the sense that we couldnt function. I thought we competed, but give them a lot of credit as well. It wasnt just the distraction of everything that has happened in the last 24 hours. Golden SState played a great basketball game, lets keep that in mind. Vans Shoes Outlet USA. ." While the Clippers wanted to let their play do the talking, other NBA players continued to speak out on the subject. Some talked about the hurt Sterlings alleged words caused. Others urged Silver to take an aggressive stance against Sterling, who has a history of alleged discrimination. Most of them hoped Sterling would be removed as the teams owner someday soon. Miami Heat star LeBron James said Silver needed to take action, going so far as to suggest "there is no room for Donald Sterling in our league." Lakers star Kobe Bryant wrote on his Twitter page that he couldnt play for Sterling. Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who played for the Clippers from 1992-94, said he could forgive Sterling but couldnt play for him right now, either. Asked if he needed to hear something from the league or Sterling to return as coach next year, Rivers said he didnt know and that he was just concentrating on the playoff series. At the Trail Blazers playoff game against the Houston Rockets on Sunday night, Portland players all wore black socks in solidarity with the Clippers players. "I wanted to do something to support our brothers," Blazers All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge said before the game in Portland. The players union, still without an executive director since firing Billy Hunter in February 2013, is following the situation closely. The union has asked former NBA All-Star and current Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson to take a leading role on the players behalf to address the Sterling matter. Johnson and Silver attended the game Sunday. Johnson said he called an emergency phone meeting of every player representative to the union Saturday night and spoke with Silver before the game. He said this is a "defining moment" for the NBA and for Silver. Johnson said players trust that the commissioner will meet their demands, which include: Sterling not attend any NBA games for the rest of the playoffs; a full account of past allegations of discrimination by Sterling and why the league never sanctioned him; the range of options that the league can penalize Sterling, including the maximum penalty, which players want if the audio recording is validated; assurance that the NBA and the union will be partners in the investigation; and an immediate and decisive ruling, hopefully before the Clippers host the Warriors for Game 5 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. Johnson also said there will be no league-wide protest by players or a boycott because theres enough attention on the issue already and that players "trust Adam Silver. They trust that Adam Silver will do the right thing." ' ' '