NEW YORK -- Nelson Cruz hit his major league-leading 40th home run and the Baltimore Orioles pushed Derek Jeter and the Yankees

NEW YORK -- Nelson Cruz hit his major league-leading 40th home run and the Baltimore Orioles pushed Derek Jeter and the Yankees to the brink of playoff elimination, beating New York 5-4 Tuesday night. Trendy Wholesale Shoes . The Yankees fell five games behind for the second AL wild card with only five games left. Jeter extended his hitting streak to seven games, but struck out on three pitches with a runner on first to end it. The retiring captain has two more home dates scheduled. The AL East champion Orioles began the day 2 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Angels, who played later at Oakland, for the best record in the league and home-field advantage for the entire post-season. Cruz boosted his career high with a drive into the left-field seats to open the fifth inning, giving him 107 RBIs. He became the sixth Baltimore player to post a 40-homer season, topped by Chris Davis 53 last year. A day after getting shut out on one single, Baltimore broke loose. Nick Markakis, who got four of the Orioles 17 hits, and Kelly Johnson also homered for the team that tops the majors with 205. Cruz and Nick Hundley each had three hits. Ubaldo Jimenez (6-9) made his second start in more than a month, giving up three hits in five-plus innings. A disappointment since signing a four-year, $50 million free-agent deal, Jimenez isnt likely to start in the playoffs -- this outing came while manager Buck Showalter gave his other starters an extra day of rest heading into October. Zach Britton pitched the ninth for his 36th save in 40 chances. After Brett Gardner got an infield hit with two outs, Britton fanned a swinging Jeter with a 96 mph fastball for the final out. Brandon McCarthy (7-5) gave up 11 hits in 5 1-3 innings, including all three Baltimore home runs. Markakis led off the game with a single, hit an RBI single in the second, and his two-run homer in the fourth made it 4-0. He returned to the lineup Monday after missing four games with a bruised right shoulder. Brian McCann hit his 23rd homer, a two-run drive in the Yankees seventh off Andrew Miller. Ichiro Suzuki doubled for his 2,841st hit in the big leagues, moving into 47th place on the career list past Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer. TRAINERS ROOM Orioles: 1B Steve Pearce missed his fourth straight game. He had a cortisone shot in his sore right wrist this week. Yankees: 1B Mark Teixeira returned to the lineup after missing two games because of his ailing right wrist. He recently had a third cortisone shot. The oft-injured Teixeira said he plans to take only a week off this winter, rather than a month. "I definitely need to get stronger. Full body, especially the wrist," he said. UP NEXT In Jeters next-to-last game scheduled at Yankee Stadium, Orioles RHP Bud Norris (14-8, 3.62 ERA) pitches against RHP Shane Greene (5-3, 3.24). The early start time of 1:05 p.m. is because of Rosh Hashana, which begins at dusk. Best Cheap Fake Shoes . -- The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets will forever be tied together for making the same spectacular misjudgment on budding NBA sensation Jeremy Lin. Wholesale Shoes China Free Shipping . Still, Milan remained five points behind city rival Inter Milan in the race for fifth place and the final Europa League berth, after Inter beat 10-man Parma 2-0. Meanwhile, Paul Pogba led the way as Juventus stayed on course for a third consecutive title with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Bologna. http://www.cheapshoes.us.org/ . Vincent Lamar Carter is no longer the lean, athletic dynamo who dazzled Raptors fans with eye-popping dunks that posterized even the leagues best defenders.Joe Harts second-half heroics saved Manchester City in the first leg but Real Madrid have a formidable home record in Europe. With the Champions League semi-final in the balance, we look at Citys reasons for hope - and caution... We couldnt have wished for more at this stage, said Manchester Citys Vincent Kompany after last weeks Champions League semi-final first-leg 0-0 draw with Real Madrid at the Etihad.Los Blancos might have failed to score an away goal but City still face a huge task to knockout the 2014 winners. Vincent Kompany (left) was happy with Man Citys first-leg performance Here, we look at some key reason why Manchester City should be cheerful - and fearful - ahead of next Wednesdays decider...Hart the HeroWhere better to start than Joe Hart, whose second-half heroics single-handedly kept Citys hopes alive in the first leg. Make no mistake, if he hadnt prevented Pepe from netting late on, Manchester Citys chances of making the final would have suffered a serious blow before they had even stepped foot on their plane to Madrid. Joe Hart makes a great save to deny Pepe late on at the Etihad He is surely one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and is capable of making the kind of reaction save that will keep City in any match. The mark of a great goalkeeper is being able to pull out a world-class stop after a long period of inactivity, and he did exactly that on Tuesday night.Despite being a spectator for much of the tie, Hart was there when he was called upon, and he will be vital in the second leg too. Harts incredible reactions kept Real Madrid from scoring in the dying moments Ronaldo ready? Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo looked relaxed in the dug-out Cristiano Ronaldos absence from the first leg was announced as he sat in the away dugout at the Etihad, wearing CR7-branded shoes and shiny gold headphones. While he appeared relaxed, Zinedine Zidane may have felt slightly differently knowing his star man was missing Madrids biggest game of the season so far.In fact, Real Madrid have won just 43 per cent of their Champions League matches without him since 2009/10, while his inclusion in their starting XI has yielded a 71 per cent win rate. Worryingly for City, his return for the second leg seems to be on track. Ronaldo key for Madrid Ronaldo has scored/assisted 77% of Real Madrid’s goals in this season’s Champions League (20 out of 26). The prolific Portugal international had been out with a hamstring injury since April 20 but the 31-year-old joined his team-mates for training on Sunday - and Zidane says he is 100 per cent for Wednesdays clash. Ronaldo is the top scorer in this seasons Champions League with 16 goals from 10 appearances and his return for the second leg would obviously be a huge boost for Real.But Sky Sports Guillem Balague is not convinced he will take to the Bernabeu turf in mint condition.If you followed Ronaldos training session on Tuesday, he didnt shoot once with his right leg so he doesnt seem to be 100 per cent, no matter what Zidane says, Balague told Sky Sports News HQ on Tuesday. Of course he will start, though - hell probably be with Bale and Jese up front. Guillem Balague doesnt think Cristiano Ronaldo is 100 per cent fit ahead of Real Madrids Champions League 2nd leg semi-final against Manchester City. Clean-sheet kings Manchester Citys defence will have to hold firm at the Bernabeu Manchester Citys backline may have come unstuck against Southampton on Sunday, conceding four goals in a heavy defeat, but Manuel Pellegrini had made three changes to the four-man defence he fielded against Real Madrid. Authentic Shoes For Cheap. The City boss will hope the return of Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy and Vincent Kompany will help his side shut out the Spanish side again. Citys record run Manchester City are currently unbeaten in six Champions League matches; their longest run ever in the competition (W3 D3). City have kept clean sheets in three consecutive home Champions League matches, after managing just one in the previous 17. Now, after silencing Zlatan Ibrahimovic and PSG in the second-leg of their quarter-final tie, they must do the same at the Bernabeu to boost their chances of reaching the final. Second-leg success Karim Benzema has scored plenty of goals this season and could be vital in the second leg Manchester City fans will head to the Bernabeu on May 4 thinking they got their own way in the first leg, but was it all part of Real Madrids masterplan? The Spanish giants have won a remarkable seven of eight European ties in the second leg after drawing 0-0 in the first.A goalless draw was good for City because one away goal in the second leg leaves Madrid needing two to progress, but Real Madrid will be expected to get on the scoresheet in front of their own fans. Manuel Pellegrini believes his Manchester City side have the personality and footballing ability to beat Real Madrid Odds against Man City? Just 31 per cent of teams who have drawn 0-0 at home in the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie have progressed to the next round (9 out of 29). The last team to do so were Atlético Madrid in the 2014 semi-finals (vs Chelsea). Despite a recent improvement, the English club have only kept a clean sheet away from home in the Champions League twice since 2011. Coupled with Real Madrids utterly ridiculous European home form, Pellegrini and his players are in for one hell of a ride - Real Madrid have failed to score at home in the Champions League just once in the last seven years.Not-so-super Sergio Sergio Aguero has been on form in the Premier League, but not in Europe If Man City are to progress, they are likely to need top scorer Sergio Aguero to deliver.In the Premier League this season, Aguero has thrived, scoring 23 goals. But on the European stage, he has struggled. The 27-year-old has now gone 432 minutes without a single shot on target in the Champions League. Reals strong defence Real Madrid have played five matches at home in the Champions League this season, keeping a clean sheet in all of them. Aguero has netted just twice in the Champions League this term. The former Atletico Madrid man will be desperate to net against his old rivals on May 4. Now is the time to make it count - Manchester City will be relying on him.Will Manchester City reach the Champions League final? Have your say by leaving a comment below if youre reading on skysports.com or tweet us @SkyFootball... Also See: Real Madrid v Man City preview Charlies European predictions Hart: City can do it Missed chance for City? ' ' '