In this photo provided by the New York Yankees, actor and comedian Cedric the Entertainer, left, poses with Yankees' Curtis Granderson during batting practice before a baseball game between the Yankees and the Atlanta Braves, Monday, June 18, 2012, at Yankee Stadium in New York. (AP Photo/New York Yankees) EDITORIAL USE ONLY; ARCHIVE OUT
June 18, 2012 - 10:26 PM
NEW YORK, N.Y. - CC Sabathia struck out 10, Derek Jeter drove in three runs and the New York Yankees won their 10th straight game, beating the Atlanta Braves 6-2 Monday night.
Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano hit solo home runs as the Yankees matched their longest winning streak since May 2005.
The team with the AL's best record kept rampaging in interleague play — all 10 of these triumphs have come against NL teams with winning records, including a sweep at Turner Field last week.
Michael Bourn led off the game with a triple and scored when Martin Prado followed with a groundout, ending Atlanta's 20-inning shutout string. But the Braves' first game at the new Yankee Stadium and first trip to the Bronx since 2006 still resulted in their seventh loss in eight tries.
Sabathia (9-3) gave up seven hits in his 34th career complete game, and first since last July. He walked one, and fanned Chipper Jones and Jason Heyward to finish it.
Sabathia beat the Braves last Tuesday, too, and improved to 22-8 lifetime in interleague play. The workhorse had thrown exactly seven innings in his previous five starts, and topped that. The big lefty also became the latest Yankees starter to excel — the group is 12-1 in June, fueling New York's dominant run.
Mike Minor (3-5) took a 2-0 lead into the fifth before Alex Rodriguez opened with a sharp single for the Yankees' first hit. Robinson Cano followed with a walk and Russell Martin lined a ground-rule double. Rodriguez scored on the hit, moving him past Mel Ott for 11th place on the career runs list with 1,860.
After another walk and foul out, Jeter came up for a club that has had trouble all season getting hits with runners in scoring position. He worked the count full, then grounded a hard single into centre field that gave the Yankees a 3-2 lead and brought his cheering parents to their feet in a private box.
David Ross singled with two outs in the Atlanta sixth and Bourn hit a grounder through the middle. Jeter made a dive, and the shortstop got a forceout at second.
Teixeira hit the Yankees' major league-leading 100th home run in the sixth. Jeter added an RBI single in the seventh off Kris Medlen and Cano hit his 13th homer in the eighth.
Sabathia protected the lead, making it another missed Monday chance for the Braves — they are 0-10 on Mondays this season.
NOTES: Braves RHP Brandon Beachy (sore elbow) had an MRI, with results likely Tuesday. Beachy is the majors' ERA leader and was put on the 15-day DL this weekend. ... Yankees OF Nick Swisher (bruised quad) sat out his second straight game. Manager Joe Girardi expects Swisher will return to the lineup in the next few days. ... Sitting in the right-centre field stands, comedian-actor Cedric the Entertainer led the Bleacher Creatures in their "roll call." Recently, New York Giants centre David Baas and NBA player Antawn Jamison also took part in the playful player introductions. "It's a little tradition they're starting here, like having someone sing at Wrigley Field in the seventh-inning stretch," said Cedric, a big Cardinals fan. "Jump in there with the crazies, fire everybody up." ... Braves 1B Freddie Freeman (injured finger) missed his fifth straight game.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012