Spot starter, new reliever carry Yankees past Rangers
NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees beat up on the pitcher they did not acquire, and they got a strong effort from a spot starter and the reliever they just picked up.
They also watched Nick Swisher hit his 200th career home run in style, a grand slam that keyed a five-run third inning, as they beat the Texas Rangers 8-2 Monday night in a showdown of the teams with the best records in the American League.
David Phelps (3-3) made an impressive spot start in place of injured lefty CC Sabathia -- a start that could have been taken over by Rangers starter Ryan Dempster if the Yankees had acquired him from the Chicago Cubs last month. However, the Yankees reportedly passed on making a deal. On Monday, they jumped on Dempster for eight runs on nine hits in six innings. Dempster (6-6 overall, 1-1 with Texas) has allowed 16 earned runs in 17 1/3 innings in three starts for the Rangers.
The Yankees also got four innings of scoreless relief from Derek Lowe, who was just picked up after he was released by the Cleveland Indians on Friday.
It all added up to a big win for the Yankees, who moved a half-game up on the Rangers for the AL's best record.
"Two hundred couldn't be sweeter," a smiling Swisher said. "It's fun for the fans, it was fun for us, too. Two great teams out there battling. ... You could feel the electricity in the field. Yankees Universe was in full form."
Swisher had two hits and five RBI. Eric Chavez also homered for New York. Ichiro Suzuki, batting ninth for the first time in his major league career, tripled, scored a run and drove in one.
David Murphy homered for the Rangers, who lost for the first time in their last three games.
"We just didn't put anything together. That's all," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We just didn't put anything together."
The Rangers appeared to put some things together early, scoring a run each in the first two innings, on a RBI single by Nelson Cruz and Murphy's 10th homer of the season, for a 2-0 lead.
But Phelps picked off two runners, and he retired the final five batters he faced. He allowed two runs on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts in five innings.
"They're huge," Phelps, who won his first game as a starter, said of the pickoffs. "It is two outs without throwing a pitch. Anytime I can do that, it makes things a whole lot easier."
It became even easier as Swisher's grand slam to right keyed a five-run third that gave the Yankees a 5-2 lead.
The Yankees racked up five hits in the inning against Dempster, all to right field, and Swisher drove his milestone homer out to right to make it 4-2.
The Yankees added two more hits before Curtis Granderson drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
"They strung some stuff together," Washington said of the Yankees' effort against Dempster. "Derek (Jeter) works a walk and then he gets a fastball up to Swisher. ... (Dempster) put up two zeros after that, but every time he made a mistake up in the zone, they just didn't miss it."
Lowe made the Rangers miss with four shutout innings in which he allowed two hits and struck out four. Inactive since Aug. 2, the former Boston Red Sox starter, who beat the Yankees in Game 7 of the 2004 American League Championship Series, tweaked his mechanics. He had struggled to an 8-10 record and 5.52 ERA in 21 starts for the Indians this season, but he said before the game he thought he had made progress.
Afterward, the Yankees were amazed that Lowe had showed the type of movement on his slider and sinker that they remembered though he had lost some of his velocity.
"D-Lowe, he just comes right up out of bed and does that," Swisher said with a grin.
Lowe acknowledged he "couldn't ask for a better start," telling a reporter "don't remind me" when asked if he could have imagined the turnaround when he was let go by Cleveland.
"It's pretty cool," he said.
Up 5-2 after five, the Yankees added a run on Chavez's 13th homer of the season in the sixth. They made it 8-2 on Jeter's RBI double to score Ichiro after his leadoff triple, and Swisher's RBI single.
NOTES: Yankees closer Mariano Rivera threw off flat ground Monday. Girardi said he was 99.9 percent sure Rivera would not return this season from his torn ACL. ... Rangers catcher Geovany Soto will start most of the time with Mike Napoli on the disabled list, but Luis Martinez will start Tuesday and get some playing time, Washington said. Washington liked matching Martinez up with left-handed starter Matt Harrison, as the pair worked together in spring training. ... The Rangers likely will continue to work with a three-man bench and 13-man pitching staff through the road trip, Washington said.
