NEW YORK -- Brendan Ryan injured his back lifting weights in spring training. Subsequent injuries limited his opportunities to face major league pitching.

Ryan had a chance to hit a fastball and succeeded Tuesday, delivering the tiebreaking double with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning as the New York Yankees opened a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles with a 3-2 victory.

Ryan's biggest hit of the year came in only his 16th at-bat and two days after some fans wanted the Yankees to designate him for assignment instead of optioning fellow second baseman Rob Refsnyder to the minors.

In the starting lineup for only the fourth time due to two disabled-list stints, Ryan was unable to produce against Baltimore left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (4-6) in his first two at-bats.

He popped up with two on in the second and stranded two more in the fourth by grounding out.

In the sixth, Ryan did not miss a 0-1 fastball, sending it down the left field line past third baseman Manny Machado. The ball went into the left field corner, caromed off the wall, and when left fielder Travis Snider was slow in getting to it, shortstop Didi Gregorius was able to score the go-ahead run ahead of Machado's relay throw.

"You try to take something from it and make an adjustment," Ryan said. "He broke my bat my first at-bat, just kind of throwing stuff in on me. I got a good pitch to hit the next at-bat, and he just beat me again. I just tried to make sure I got my foot down, I was ready to hit the fastball, and if he's going to beat me with other stuff, I tip my hat, but I got to be ready to hit the fastball. So I barreled something, and I was lucky to get it past Machado."

Ryan's hit helped the Yankees earn their third one-run victory since the All-Star break and win for the 19th time in their last 26 home games. It also occurred on a night when New York stranded 10 and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

"I wanted an outside pitch and it was outside but maybe it caught a little bit too much of the plate," Chen said through an interpreter. "Still, that's where I wanted to (throw it). It was a grounder, and it found a hole."

Ryan's hit was necessary after the Yankees blew a 2-0 lead that they attained via a sacrifice fly by designated hitter Alex Rodriguez in the first and a double by third baseman Chase Headley in the second.

"I'm sure it meant a lot," New York manager Joe Girardi said of Ryan collecting the key hit. "It meant a lot to our club, too."

Baltimore nearly scored its first runs in the fifth, but second baseman Jonathan Schoop hit long foul balls on consecutive pitches. His drive down the left field line sailed foul, and a potential double to left stayed inches foul.

"I thought Jon's ball was going to be fair for sure, but hopefully some of those inches will go our way tomorrow," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said.

An inning later, the Orioles finally broke through, getting consecutive two-out RBI singles from catcher Matt Wieters and shortstop J.J. Hardy. Those hits came after center fielder Adam Jones reached on his second infield hit of the game.

The inning ended when Wieters was thrown out trying in a rundown in between second and third after assuming there would be a play at the plate and not seeing a bobble by right fielder Chris Young.

Ryan's hit also enabled the Yankees to hand the lead over to Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller in the late innings. After Nathan Eovaldi allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, Justin Wilson (3-0) tossed a scoreless inning for the win.

Betances fanned Machado for the final out of the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth. Miller threw nine pitches in a hitless ninth for his 21st save in as many opportunities.

"We have a really nasty bullpen, just one after another, lights-out stuff," Ryan said. "You're almost surprised when something gets barreled off these guys."

NOTES: New York OF Carlos Beltran got the night off after returning from an oblique injury Sunday, but manager Joe Girardi said he was not starting a platoon with Beltran and OF Chris Young. ... Orioles RHP Kevin Gausman will be added to the active roster Wednesday for a start against the Yankees. Gausman last started Friday for Triple-A Norfolk and said he was pleased with the outing because he did not issue any walks. ... New York OF Brett Gardner was warned by the Yankees and Major League Baseball not to wear the white cleats that he used Sunday. "I won't be wearing them," he said. "That was a one-time thing." ... The game was delayed by rain for 15 minutes in between the top and bottom of the second.