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Jeter-less Yankees steamroll Rangers

Jun 15, 2011 - 5:09 AM Bronx, NY (Sports Network) - Curtis Granderson continued his power surge with a home run and four RBI, as the New York Yankees, without their injured leadoff hitter, knocked out Alexi Ogando in the second inning en route to a 12-4 pounding of the Texas Rangers.

Derek Jeter, in the midst of his chase for 3,000 career hits, was placed on the 15-day disabled list before the game due to a strained right calf.

New York hardly missed his presence in the opener of the three-game series with Granderson, Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher each homering and Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez driving in two runs apiece in the rout.

CC Sabathia (8-4) was the beneficiary of the run support in a so-so outing that saw the lefty allow four runs on eight hits over seven innings.

"The run support has been great. It makes you go out, relax and pound the strike zone," a grateful Sabathia said. "They put up some great at-bats."

Ogando (7-1) was handed his first loss of the season in easily his shortest outing, getting touched for six runs on six hits while recording only five outs.

Michael Young, the Rangers' all-time leader in at-bats, hits, singles, doubles, triples, and multi-hit games, added another franchise record to his resume by playing in his 1,574th game with the club. He recorded a two-run single in the loss, Texas' sixth in eight games.

Ogando lasted at least six innings in each of his previous 12 starts this year and worked a quick 1-2-3 first before the wheels fell off in the second.

Eduardo Nunez's bases-loaded single scored Rodriguez before three straight two-out hits pushed across five runs. Brett Gardner's base hit to left plated Jorge Posada, while Granderson and Teixeira each brought in a pair, the latter a double into the right-field corner that spelled the end to Ogando's night.

"[Ogando] just had a bad night. If you play this game long enough you're going to have those types of nights," Rangers manager Ron Washington said.

Swisher made it 7-0 on a home run to left off Michael Kirkman in the third, while Young and Rodriguez exchanged two-run hits in the fourth.

The Rangers got two more in the fifth on Craig Gentry's RBI double and Elvis Andrus' run-scoring groundout.

Granderson got the runs back with a two-run shot off Yoshinori Tateyama in the sixth, giving him 21 home runs on the season to tie Toronto's Jose Bautista for the major-league lead.

Cano followed three batters later with a solo shot, and the Yankees cruised the rest of the way for in their fourth win in five games.

Game Notes

Young moved past Rafael Palmeiro on the Rangers' all-time games played list...Ogando was just the sixth Texas pitcher to win at least his first seven decisions in a season. Of the 25 runs Ogando has given up this season, 11 have come in two outings against the Yankees. He saw his earned-run average rise from 2.10 to 2.71...Gardner, plugged into the leadoff spot in place of Jeter, went 3-for-4, scored three runs, stole his 14th base and was one of five Yankees with multi-hit games...The game was delayed 41 minutes because of rain.