Sports

Yankees newbies bring lumber north

TORONTO — Despite the lack of several major stars and all the new faces in the lineup, don’t be fooled — the Yankees are still the Bronx Bombers.

The power was in full force in last night’s 9-4 win over the Blue Jays as the Yankees collected 13 hits (10 for extra bases) and saw every player in the starting lineup deliver at least one hit or one run.

“It’s nice when it’s like that because it puts a lot of pressure on the other club where you can score runs from a lot of different places,” manager Joe Girardi said. “The responsibility doesn’t fall on the same guys every night, and that’s important, too. That burden can get a little bit heavy sometimes if it’s always the same guys, so [it’s good to be] getting contributions up and down the lineup.”

Most of that pressure falls on Robinson Cano, given the long-term injuries to Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, Curtis Granderson and Alex Rodriguez. Cano has lived up to expectations — he went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .323 — but is pleased his new teammates have done their part as well.

“We have new guys who have been in the league for years, guys who have gotten big hits, 30 homers, 100 RBIs before,” Cano said. “They’re fitting in well on this team.”

Three of those veteran newcomers (Travis Hafner, Vernon Wells and Lyle Overbay) homered, combining for five hits, five RBIs and four runs scored. It was a particularly satisfying performance for Overbay and Wells, two former Jays who heard the boos from their former home crowd at Rogers Centre.

“I actually heard it when I was a Blue Jay, so it’s no different,” Wells joked. “They’re passionate and they love getting on the opposing team, especially if you were a Blue Jay, they enjoy it even more. It comes with the territory.”

The Yankees had scored just 21 runs in their previous six games. They went 4-2 in those games, thanks in large part to the starting pitching. Even the makeshift Yankees, however, have remained in their customary place near the top of the league’s offensive rankings. They entered yesterday ranked third in the majors in homers, fourth in slugging percentage and seventh in batting average and on-base percentage.

Ichiro Suzuki, one of the few Yankees looking to find his stroke, went 2-for-5 with two doubles against the Jays. It was Suzuki’s second multi-hit game of the season, but he believes the team’s overall offensive prowess will eventually get him going as well.

“Hitting is not easy, but when you get in that rhythm where you’re scoring a lot of runs, it’s fun,” he said. “It’s fun to be around it and be a part of it.”