Baltimore ? The schedule said it was the second game of a long, 162-game season. To David Wells, however, it was much more.

For Wells, it was the first game of his reborn baseball career.

“I was nervous all day,” he said. “This was my first start since July, and it was a big night for me  being back with the team I’ve always loved.”

Wells ultimately fought off the uncharacteristic case of jitters, pitching marvelously into the eighth inning as the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 Wednesday night.

Newcomer Robin Ventura homered over the right-field wall in the seventh against Jason Johnson to break up an outstanding pitching duel.

Signed by New York as a free agent in January, Wells (1-0) looked every bit as good as he did during his first stint with the Yankees, when he went 34-14 in 1997-98 and pitched a perfect game.

The left-hander allowed four hits, walked one and struck out one in 71/3 innings.

It was Wells’ first start since last June, when he cut short a disappointing 5-7 season with the Chicago White Sox to undergo back surgery.

“Since 8 this morning, when I woke up, I’ve been climbing the walls. I was really antsy today,” he said.

Despite his concern, everything turned out just fine in a game that was played in 53-degree temperatures and a swirling wind that made it seem much colder.

“I had it all working, but it was a little tough tonight with the wind coming in. I prefer cold weather,” Wells said. “I’ve pitched well in the cold my whole career. It’s great. I’m on Cloud 9 right now. I did my job. I kept us in the ballgame.”

After being held hitless in a 10-3 loss to Baltimore on opening day, Ventura walked and singled before driving an 0-1 pitch over the right-field scoreboard in the seventh.

“It was an off-speed pitch that he left up a little bit,” Ventura said. “I think the wind kind of helped it a bit. The ball was hooking, and it brought it back to the line.”

Obtained in a trade with the New York Mets for David Justice, Ventura has 16 career homers against the Orioles, most against any major league team except Detroit.

Devil Rays 2, Tigers 1, 12 innings

St. Petersburg, Fla. Â Randy Winn snapped an 0-for-10 streak with an RBI single in the 12th inning that lifted Tampa Bay over Detroit. The Devil Rays, who lost a AL-high 100 games last season, are off to the first 2-0 start in the team’s five-year history. They are two games over .500 for the first time since May 21, 1999.

Mariners 7, White Sox 6

Seattle  Bret Boone hit an RBI single with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, capping a four-run rally. The White Sox bullpen, tagged for eight runs on 10 hits and seven walks in the first two games of season, once again fell apart.

Indians 6, Angels 5

Anaheim, Calif. Â Rookie Ryan Drese, a late replacement for Cleveland starter Chuck Finley, earned his second major league victory as the Indians held off Anaheim. Drese, making his fifth career start, gave up three runs and nine hits in 52/3 innings. The 26-year-old right-hander, who went 1-2 with Cleveland last year, walked two and struck out two. Ricky Gutierrez hit a solo homer in the eighth off Donne Wall to give the Indians a two-run lead. Gutierrez also singled and scored in a three-run second inning.

Blue Jays-Red Sox rained out

Boston  Toronto and Boston were rained out after two innings Wednesday night. No makeup date was announced for the game, which began one hour, 13 minutes late.