NEW YORK -- By the fourth inning, right-hander Michael Pineda had accumulated nine strikeouts and thought to himself, "Oh, it's going to be pretty good."

Sunday was more than pretty good for Pineda -- it was one of the best pitching performances in New York Yankees history.

Pineda came within two of Ron Guidry's team record by striking out 16 hitters over seven dominant innings and the Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles 6-2.

"In the fourth inning, I felt, 'Oh, it's going to be pretty good," Pineda said. "I want to continue making good pitches and strike them out."

Pineda allowed one run and six hits while making 111 (81 strikes) good pitches and that combined with his recent history of shoulder injuries prevented him from tying the mark set by Guidry, whose 18-strikeout game came in a four-hitter against the California Angels on June 17, 1978, in New York.

"He was really good today," New York catcher Brian McCann said. "He had all three pitches working. He's a dominant pitcher. He really is. He's not a guy that not many people want to face."

Instead of tying Guidry, Pineda had the first game by a Yankee with 16 strikeouts and no walks and the first since Johan Santana (17 strikeouts) on Aug. 19, 2007, for Minnesota against Texas.

It also was the seventh time in the modern era since 1900 that a pitcher struck out 16 in seven innings or fewer. The last time was Philadelphia's Cliff Lee on May 6, 2011, against Atlanta.

"All pitchers want to throw strikes," Pineda said. "For me this is the biggest thing, throw strikes, attack the hitter and that's what I did. I'm happy with that.

Pineda tied for the second most strikeouts in team history. David Cone had 16 strikeouts on June 23, 1997, at Detroit and David Wells also had 16 against the Oakland Athletics on July 30, 1997, in New York.

"That's as good as we've seen him," said New York manager Joe Girardi, who caught the games by Cone and Wells.

In equaling Cone and Wells, Pineda confounded Baltimore hitters with a mix of slider and fastballs, getting a nearly equal amount of strikeouts on those pitches that often showed late movement and deception.

"When you can throw three pitches for strikes whenever you want, it allows as a pitcher to attack the hitters weakness and you keep the game unpredictable," McCann said. "That's what he's able to do."

Pineda reached 12 strikeouts through five innings when he got Manny Machado on a 2-2 slider above the knees that prompted the third baseman to slam his helmet to the ground.

"A couple of them they were great pitches, right on the corners at the knees," McCann said. "They were perfect pitches, so it's not fun facing him."

Pineda struck out six straight hitters until right fielder Delmon Young doubled with two outs in the sixth. Pineda did not reach a 2-0 count until facing Chris Davis in the sixth but the first baseman grounded out softly on a defensive shift.

Every hitter except shortstop J.J. Hardy struck out at least once against Pineda while Machado, Young, Davis, left fielder Alejandro De Aza, catcher Caleb Joseph and second baseman Ryan Flaherty fanned twice.

"He's nasty," Hardy said of Pineda. "His ball is cutting all over the place. He comes out of the same slot. The slider looks like the cutter, it's just tough to pick up."

Pineda entered the seventh at 91 pitches and nobody warming up in the bullpen. After allowing a leadoff hit to Hardy, left-hander Justin Wilson began getting loose but Pineda recorded his next two strikeouts by getting Joseph and Flaherty on sliders to end the seventh.

"He was good," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "He's been good for most of the year. He had a couple of things working in his favor. Obviously the biggest one was his stuff."

While Pineda had command of the strike zone, Baltimore right-hander Bud Norris (1-4) did not. Norris, who had been sent back to the team hotel Saturday due to having chills, allowed four runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings while throwing 43 of 88 pitches for strikes.

Right fielder Carlos Beltran and catcher Brian McCann hit solo home runs for the Yankees, who have won 14 of their last 19 games. Shortstop Didi Gregorius and center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury drove in two runs apiece.

Hardy homered and center fielder Adam Jones had an RBI single for the Orioles, who lost five of six games in their trip to face the Mets and Yankees.

Pineda pitched with a 1-0 deficit after Hardy drove a 2-2 slider over the left field wall with one out in the second.

The Yankees scored four times with one out in the fourth on Beltran's home run, Gregorius' single to right and Ellsbury's two-run double to left. They added a run in the fifth on McCann's home run and a run in the seventh on Gregorius' double.

NOTES: Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said Kevin Gausman (right shoulder tendinitis) is responding well to treatment and will have an MRI Tuesday. ... Orioles C Matt Wieters, who is 10 months into his recovery from Tommy John surgery, caught seven innings Saturday in extended spring training. He will catch eight innings Tuesday and nine innings Thursday and Saturday. ... After the game, the Orioles announced that Wieters was placed on the 60-day disabled list in a procedural move to get RHP Jorge Rondon on the 40-man roster. Rondon was claimed off waivers from the Colorado Rockies and will be optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. ... New York RHP Masahiro Tanaka threw off flat ground at distances of 90 and 120 feet. It was the third time he has thrown since landing on the DL with right wrist tendinitis and a strained right forearm. ... According to the Elias Sports Bureau since the inception of earned runs (1912 in the National League and 1913 in the American League), RHP Dellin Betances and LHP Andrew Miller are the only teammates to pitch at least 15 innings through a team's first 30 games and not allow an earned run.