ARLINGTON, Texas — A team in dire need of something, anything to end a three-game bender, will take help from any locker.
And with all the stars in the Yankees’ universe, the smart money would have been on Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira or Derek Jeter delivering last night.
Instead, it was rookie right-hander Ivan Nova and center fielder Curtis Granderson who played the big parts in the Yankees’ 4-1 win over the Rangers in front of 49,069 at Rangers Ballpark.
“We needed a lift after losing three in a row in Detroit,” manager Joe Girardi said.
Nova, backed by two home runs from Granderson (a two-run blast into the second deck in right-center in the first and a solo shot in the seventh), fed the Rangers ground balls that were inhaled by the Yankees’ infielders.
Of the 22 outs Nova recorded in a career-high 7 1/3 innings, 16 were on the ground.
“I know I am not a big strikeout pitcher,” Nova said “I don’t have to think about striking everybody out. I have to make my pitches.”
Nova (3-2) allowed two hits and an unearned run to win his second straight. Of the 98 pitches he threw, 62 were strikes and just two of them came on missed swings.
His third straight solid start came against the defending AL champions, who were without reigning league MVP Josh Hamilton and right fielder Nelson Cruz. Also, the Rangers got home from Seattle at 5:30 a.m. (CDT) yesterday.
But that didn’t diminish what Nova did. The only blemish on his night was an unearned run in the eighth inning, when Nova walked Mike Napoli with one out and Teixeira booted Mitch Moreland’s grounder for an error.
With Nova at 98 pitches, Girardi summoned Rafael Soriano. He whiffed Chris Davis on three pitches, but gave up an RBI single to Julio Borbon, the No. 9 hitter. Soriano regrouped to retire Ian Kinsler and hand over a three-run bulge to Mariano Rivera.
Rivera notched his 12th save with a perfect ninth that included two strikeouts.
The Yankees’ limp lineup had a chance to punish lefty Matt Harrison in the second inning, but scored only an unearned run. With the bases loaded and one out, Teixeira fouled out and Rodriguez lifted a stress-free fly to center.
“We had opportunities to tack on,” said Girardi, whose club has scored nine runs in its last four games. “We are not swinging the bat. We have to find a way to win.”
Nova and Granderson delivered the map for a lineup that is batting .211 (27-for-128) in the past four games.
“To get the runs early on, that lets our pitcher get more comfortable,” said Granderson, who has 10 homers and 21 RBIs.
Ideally, the 24-year-old Nova would be slotted into the fifth spot in the Yankees’ rotation and brought along slowly. But with Phil Hughes out indefinitely and nobody knowing how long Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia are going to hold up, more is needed from Nova.
And that starts by having him work deeper into games, something he had trouble doing in seven starts last season.
“My last two games I got into the seventh inning and that was special,” Nova said. “How can I say about this one?”