Yankees Beat Blue Jays for Third Straight Win; Boston Red Sox Rout Rangers

Robinson Cano’s two-run double in the seventh inning helped the American League East-leading New York Yankees rally to a 6-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Boston Red Sox (84-54) capitalized on an eight-run fourth inning last night to rout the Texas Rangers 12-7 and stay half a game behind the Yankees (84-53) in the Major League Baseball five-team division.

At Yankee Stadium, the Rangers took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on a solo home run by Adam Lind and J.P. Arencibia’s sacrifice fly scoring Edwin Encarnacion. The Yankees went up 3-2 in the bottom of the inning as Eduardo Nunez hit a run-scoring single before Francisco Cervelli smacked a two-run homer.

The Blue Jays tied it again in the third inning as Jose Bautista drove in Dewayne Wise, then took a 4-3 lead in the fifth when Wise hit his first home run of the season.

Cano’s two-run double put the Yankees ahead again before Nick Swisher capped the scoring with a single that scored Cano, giving the Yankees their third straight victory.

Alex Rodriguez, who was back in the lineup with a taped thumb after missing six games, was walked before Cano stepped up to the plate.

“Every time I see they walk a guy in front of me, that pumps me up,” Cano told reporters, “and I say, ‘Come on, now is a situation where you’ve got to show them they’ve got to pitch to the guy in front of you.’”

Day of Rest

Derek Jeter was out of the lineup for a day of rest and Mark Teixeira missed his second game with a sore knee.

Boone Logan (5-2) pitched a perfect 2/3 inning, striking out one, while David Robertson got his first save. Ricky Romero (13-10) gave up five runs on eight hits and struck out five in 6 2/3 innings.

At Fenway Park, the Red Sox overcame a 3-1 deficit in the fourth inning with a two-run homer by Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Carl Crawford’s fourth career grand slam. Dustin Pedroia’s three-run double in the sixth ended Boston’s scoring.

Erik Bedard (5-9) went six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and striking out six. Colby Lewis (11-10) gave up seven hits and four runs in 3 1/3 innings.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Kercheval in Washington at nkercheval@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net