BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- The Baltimore Orioles literally delivered a knockout blow to the New York Yankees ' latest free agent acquisition.

Carl Pavano left the game in the third inning after being hit in the head by Melvin Mora 's line drive and the Baltimore Orioles went on to collect 14 hits en route to a 7-2 triumph over the Yankees.

Pavano was struck on the right side of the head by Mora's liner and the ball ricocheted over first baseman Jason Giambi and into foul territory. Before Brian Roberts - who led off the inning with a bunt single - could reach third, New York manager Joe Torre and trainer Gene Monahan raced onto the field to attend to Pavano, who was upright but holding his head.

"I hope he is OK," Mora said. "I just hope he is fine. I saw when it hit him in the head. I was afraid to run to first. Everything happened so quick. I thought he was bleeding or something, but somebody told me he was OK."

The injury would have been avoided had Giambi not failed to catch a foul popup, resulting in his third error of the season and prolonging Mora's at-bat.

Signed to a four-year, $39.95 million contract in December, Pavano was taken to the locker room and was examined by team physician Dr. Stuart Hershon. Pavano was described as alert and well-oriented before being taken to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center for precautionary reasons.

"We were concerned," Torre said. "He wasn't in pain, but you could see he was uncomfortable. He was shocked, but had a sense of humor. It is a frightening thing."

Tanyon Sturtze replaced Pavano and yielded an RBI single to right field by Miguel Tejada before Javy Lopez ripped a line drive past third baseman Alex Rodriguez for a double, driving in two runs and extending the Orioles' lead to 4-0.

Pavano (0-1) pitched two-plus innings, allowing three runs - one earned - and five hits with one strikeout.

Rafael Palmeiro and Jay Gibbons - who opened the scoring with an RBI single in the second - each plated a run in the fifth and Roberts belted his third homer of the season an inning later to give Baltimore a 7-1 cushion. The 40-year-old Palmeiro collected three hits and stole a base.

Rodrigo Lopez (2-0), who pitched six scoreless innings in an Opening Day victory over Oakland, benefited for the offensive outburst. The righthander tossed eight strong innings, yielding one run and six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in improving to 5-3 lifetime against New York and 3-1 at Yankee Stadium.

"Rodrigo had a good outing," Baltimore manager Lee Mazzilli said. "I told him, 'I need you today.' Our bullpen was a little tired."

"I was focused," said Rodrigo Lopez , who also was hit by a line drive in the second inning but remained in the game. "All my pitches worked and I had command. I changed speeds, that was my game plan."