CC Sabathia (REUTERS)
ARLINGTON, Texas — If three of CC Sabathia’s last four starts are an indication of what will follow, bet the over every time the ace pitches.
And that’s just on the Yankees’ side of the wager sheet.
On a day when Sabathia gave up four runs in the first two innings, when he allowed two hits and issued three walks, Derek Jeter and his lineup mates spanked the Rangers’ pitching staff in a 12-5 victory at Rangers Ballpark.
PHOTOS: YANKEES ROUT RANGERS, 12-5
In Sabathia’s last three victories, the Yankees have scored 39 runs. In his lone loss in a four-game stretch, they plated two.
Even when Sabathia put the Yankees in a 4-0 hole after two innings, the Yankees flexed enough muscle to leave Texas having won two of three and hiking Sabathia’s record to 3-2.
“To leave it right there and make it all they get,” Sabathia said of his mindset when the Yankees were down 4-0. “These guys are going to battle and they did.”
Sabathia, an excellent fielder, committed two of the Yankees’ four errors, though they didn’t lead to runs.
In six innings, Sabathia gave up five runs (three earned), five hits and tied a season-high with four walks.
“He struggled with his control and we made some mistakes,” Jeter said. “[Shutting down the Rangers after the slow start is] what makes him so good.”
Working with a 95-mph fastball that he was able to locate for strikes, Sabathia struggled with commanding his change-up. Alex Rodriguez and Brett Gardner committing errors in the first didn’t help either.
But since it was Sabathia on the mound and the game was played in a hitter’s park, the 4-0 deficit didn’t loom as large as it would have with another hurler working another stadium.
“He tried to keep it close and find it and he did,” manager Joe Girardi said of Sabathia, who fired blanks until the seventh when Joba Chamberlain allowed the runner he inherited from Sabathia to score.