Yankees 3, Orioles 2: Vernon Wells singled in the winning run in the ninth inning to lift host New York to its season high-tying fifth consecutive victory.

Wells' hard single past diving third baseman Manny Machado came one batter after Orioles closer Jim Johnson walked Travis Hafner on four pitches with the bases loaded to force in the tying run. The Yankees halted a five-game skid at the hands of Baltimore and handed Johnson (2-7) his sixth blown save.

The two-run rally, which featured an error by Johnson, a sacrifice bunt and two walks (one intentional), rewarded a superb effort by Ivan Nova (3-2), who allowed two runs on three hits in the first complete game of his career. Nova struck out a season-high 11 and retired 23 of the final 25 batters.

Matt Wieters belted a two-run homer in the second inning and Miguel Gonzalez permitted one run over six innings for the Orioles, who saw their lead over the Yankees cut to a half-game in the battle for second place in the American League East.

Wieters' blast hit the top of the wall in left for a 2-0 lead before New York cut the deficit in half in the fourth. Wells singled with two outs, moved to second on a walk and scored on Luis Cruz's single, barely beating the tag of Wieters.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Yankees SS Derek Jeter, who hasn't played since suffering a fractured left ankle in the AL Championship Series last year, will begin a rehab assignment Saturday at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. ... Wieters was mired in a 6-for-42 slump before hitting his fourth homer in 22 at-bats against Nova. ... Yankees RHP Hiroki Kuroda (hip), who had been scheduled to start Friday's game, has been cleared to resume throwing.