Rangers 2, Yankees 0
NEW YORK -- Derek Holland pitched a two-hitter to lead the Texas Rangers to a 2-0 victory over the New York Yankees Thursday at Yankee Stadium.
Holland (6-4) beat the Yankees for the first time in eight career starts after allowing 39 earned runs in 39 2/3 previous innings against New York. He allowed a leadoff single to Ichiro Suzuki in the first, a two-out single to Austin Romine in the third and issued a leadoff walk to Jayson Nix in the fourth.
Holland then retired nine straight after the Nix free pass until Robinson Cano led off the seventh with a walk. The Texas lefty caught a break when Cano tried to advance on a pitch in the dirt, only to be easily thrown out by catcher Geovany Soto then cruised to his sixth career complete game.
Pitching on five days rest, Holland worked quickly and kept his pitch count down, finishing with 92 pitches. He struck out seven and faced two more than the minimum.
The closest he came to allowing a run was when New York rookies David Adams and Zoilo Almonte hit fly balls to the warning tracks in right and left field in the fifth and seventh, respectively.
Rangers rookie Jurickson Profar accounted for both runs for Texas, which has won seven of eight.
Profar drew a walk from New York starter Phil Hughes (3-7) in the third and scored on Ian Kinsler's sacrifice fly. After seeing nine pitches in his first plate appearance, Profar drove a first-pitch changeup over the right field wall leading off the fifth.
Hughes lost his third consecutive start, allowing two runs and five hits while pitching eight innings. He also was on the losing end of a Yankee shutout for the second straight start.
New York lost for the 10th time in 15 games, while getting blanked for the seventh time and equaling their season-low for hits.
Notes. Both New York tabloids had differing accounts of the latest turn in the Alex Rodriguez saga. The New York Post reported that Rodriguez has told the Yankees he isn't ready to start rehab games. The New York Daily News reported that he's ready to start rehab games with the idea that he'd claim to be physically unable to play. That scenario would allow him to avoid a 100-game suspension for PED use and receive the remaining money on his contract, which has 4 1/2 seasons left. "A couple of conflicting reports from sources," Joe Girardi said. "That's why I always say for me, when a player gets here, he gets here. When he's ready, he's ready. But everything that I understand, he's been making progress and moves better day after day. So it sounds like things are pretty good." ... Yankee SS Derek Jeter ran outside for the first time since reinjuring his ankle two months ago. ... Profar made his second career start at third base. ... Seth Jones, who is expected to be the top pick in Sunday's NHL draft attended the game along with two other prospects. Jones is the son of former NBA forward Popeye Jones. ... The Rangers haven't scored a first-inning run in their last 19 games, the club's longest drought since 2004.
