MLB

Six-run 5th inning leads Yankees to win over White Sox

Playing without Derek Jeter (routine rest) and Mark Teixeira (jammed shoulder), the Yankees disbanded the Dead Bat Society last night against the White Sox.

In its place, the Bombers wielded sticks that hit balls so hard it made you think the barrels were corked.

After being handcuffed across three games, the Yankees first took advantage of Edwin Jackson’s wildness and then spanked the right-hander in a six-run fifth inning on the way to a 12-3 victory at the Stadium.

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“They definitely didn’t need me tonight,” said No. 3 hitter Mark Teixeira.

Nor Derek Jeter needed. He was given the game off and replaced by Eduardo Nunez, whose two errors didn’t leave scars.

When the Yankees started the fifth inning they were batting .134 (13-for-97) in the past three games plus the first four frames last night, when they scored two runs without a hit.

But Brett Gardner’s leadoff homer against Jackson in the fifth started to change things, and by the time the 32-minute frame was finished, the Yankees had given ace CC Sabathia an 8-0 bulge.

Nick Swisher, who was 0-for-19 when he singled home a run in the fifth, hit a two-run homer in the seventh for his first of the season.

“The home run is always in the back of my mind,” said Swisher, who went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs. “Tonight I got a couple of knocks. Hopefully, it’s something to get on a roll.”

Sabathia survived rocky first and second innings and then cruised to his second victory in three decisions. In seven innings, he allowed three unearned runs, seven hits, walked one and fanned six.

“Looking at the guys, [that can] happen pretty much every inning at any time,” Sabathia said of the fifth. “So, you just sit and wait, and most of the time you go out with a big lead.”

The victory allowed the Yankees to gain a split of the four-game series with the offensively challenged Chisox, who scored nine runs in the four games.

Jackson (2-3) gave up two runs in the third without a hit because he walked four. In the fifth, Russell Martin said patience played a big part in the right-hander getting run off the mound.

“He is not going to

throw strikes, he is erratic at times,” said Martin, who added an RBI single off reliever Tony Pena in the fifth. “We were on his fastball.”

Nine batters reached safely before Gardner fanned in his second at-bat in the fifth. Curtis Granderson tripled in a run, Swisher singled in a run, Alex Rodriguez doubled in a run, Martin had an RBI single and Jorge Posada walked with the bases loaded.

“It all started with a couple of walks,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of the third, when Gardner, Nunez and Granderson and Swisher opened with walks.

If not for Nunez’ throwing error, Sabathia wouldn’t have allowed a run. In the last five games, Yankees starters have allowed one earned run or less and have a 0.76 ERA.

george.king@nypost.com