Rangers dump Yankees to earn sixth series win in a row

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers' record start added another milestone with Wednesday night's 7-3 victory over the New York Yankees in the series finale at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Texas (15-4) has opened a season with six consecutive series wins for the first time in franchise history. The Rangers took two of three against New York after dropping the Monday's opener.

"We're doing everything," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "Swinging the bats, at times, we're playing the game the way it's supposed to be played when it presents itself to us. We're pitching well, we're playing defense. We're running the bases. We're just playing complete baseball."

Texas drilled three home runs against a beat-up Yankees staff that turned to the bullpen in the third inning. New York (10-8) heads home to face Detroit in a three-game series starting Friday.

Yankees starter Phil Hughes hasn't been able to get it going this season. He dropped to 1-3, and his ERA has ballooned to 7.88.

"We believe he can do it, and I know he believes he can do it, but right now sometimes the ball runs back a little bit, he leaves the curveball up a little bit. Cutter sometimes isn't getting where he wants it," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "It is frustrating, but you have to keep working at it."

New York managed eight hits off Texas spot starter Scott Feldman and four relievers. Rookie Robbie Ross (4-0) had the most impressive relief stint, throwing 2 2/3 innings of hitless ball for the win.

"I'm just trying to get quality strikes and keep the ball in play," Ross said.

Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli and Mitch Moreland had solo shots for the Rangers. Yankees left fielder Raul Ibanez blasted a pitch from Neftali Feliz into the upper deck in the seventh.

Josh Hamilton had one of the game's early highlights, and he did it with his glove and not his bat. The Texas center fielder made a sliding catch on Raul Ibanez's sinking liner in the second, popped up and fired a bullet to first to double up Mark Teixeira and end the inning.

Texas then jumped out front in the bottom of the inning. Beltre led off with a towering 441-foot drive off Hughes to center to stake Feldman to a 1-0 edge.

The Rangers added another three runs in the third, two coming with two outs. Ian Kinsler and Michael Young both had doubles in the inning. Hughes was pulled in favor of Clay Rapada with the bases loaded and David Murphy at the plate.

Hughes, like everyone associated with the Yankees, is frustrated by his slow start.

"Something has to change," he said. "I just have to keep working hard. That's all I can do. I feel good with the stuff I'm throwing. Every outing like this is disappointing. It's tough to deal with. You just hope things get better before they get worse."

Rapada avoided major trouble when Murphy grounded out to hold the Texas lead at 4-0. It didn't last, as Feldman couldn't get out of the fourth.

Robinson and Teixeira opened the frame with hits. Ibanez drove Robinson home with a ground-rule double, and an Eric Chavez sacrifice fly plated Teixeira, cutting the Rangers' advantage to 4-2.

"We were trying to get as much out of Feldman as we could," Washington said. "He got us into the fourth inning. Had Robbie to come in and get us out of that inning, give us the fifth and the sixth.

"And Nefty picked up the seventh, and then we got the ball to the back of the bullpen, exactly what we wanted to do hoping that we had a lead. We got a lead and held on."

Napoli drilled Texas' second homer of the game in the fifth off David Phelps, the third New York pitcher of the evening. The Rangers, however, couldn't pad the 5-2 lead with the bases loaded and one out.

NOTES: Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda is out for the rest of the season. The 23-year-old right-hander, acquired in the offseason from Seattle, will undergo shoulder surgery Tuesday to repair a torn labrum. "For this year, it's a loss," Girardi said. "He was a guy that we were counting on this year." ... Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus played his 51st consecutive errorless game. Andrus needs one more error-free game to tie Alex Rodriguez's franchise record for a starting shortstop. ... Texas closer Joe Nathan recorded the first one-pitch save of his career Tuesday. He induced a double play on that one pitch to preserve the Rangers' 2-0 win over the Yankees. Nathan pitched a scoreless ninth inning Wednesday in a non-save situation.