CLEVELAND- Who said they’re not the Bronx Bombers anymore?
For a second straight day, the Yankees’ lineup looked as good as ever, getting homers from Travis Hafner and a pair from Robinson Cano in a 11-6 win over the Indians in their home opener at Progressive Field on Monday.
And with Hiroki Kuroda far from his sharpest and a horrendous performance by Shawn Kelley out of the bullpen, they needed the offensive outburst.
Kuroda, making his first start since suffering a contusion to his right middle finger in his previous outing, survived a three-run first inning, when he coughed up a 3-0 lead provided by Hafner’s three-run blast against his former team. Kuroda ended up surrendering three runs in 5 1/3 innings in his first start since suffering a contusion to his right middle finger.
“I think you’ll know fairly quickly if the finger arises [as a problem],” Joe Girardi said before the game. “I feel pretty good about it.”
The manager said he would be paying attention to Kuroda’s control as to whether the right-hander was feeling the effect of the bruise that knocked him out of his first start in the second inning.
“I’ll watch his command and that will probably be the telling tale,” Girardi said. “I’m sure there’s a little something, but as I’ve said, very seldom does a guy go out there and feel 100 percent. You’re gonna pitch and play little bit nicked up. But if his command’s there, I feel he’ll be able to pitch well.”
Kuroda walked two during his rough first inning, but settled down in the second.
Kuroda didn’t give up a run the rest of the way and the Yankees’ offense more than did its part.
Hafner gave Kuroda the lead in the top of the first when he blasted an Ubaldo Jimenez offering over the left field fence. It was Hafner’s 100th homer at Progressive (formerly Jacobs) Field.
The Yankees were able to retake the lead in the third when Hafner delivered again, this time with a single to center that scored Cano.
“It’s been a little strange,” Hafner said of his return to Cleveland as a visiting player. “I don’t know where I’m going.”
Clearly, he still knows how to produce at the plate.
The Yankees were able to pad their lead in the fourth when Chris Stewart started a rally with a two-out single. The slow-footed catcher caught the Indians napping and stole second standing up, putting himself in position to score on Brett Gardner’s bloop single to center to make it 5-3.
Cano homered to lead off the fifth for a 6-3 lead and Ichiro Suzuki singled in Hafner later in the inning.
The second baseman, mired in a slump throughout the first two series, then added another homer in the sixth to make it 8-3.
The Yankees added three more runs in the seventh, an inning that started with a Hafner walk.
Vernon Wells followed with another single and then Ichiro added another hit to drive in Hafner. And both Wells and Ichiro advanced a base on an error by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, with Wells then scoring on a wild pitch by Rich Hill.
Ichiro got to third on the wild pitch and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Nunez.
But Kelley’s implosion in the eighth gave the Indians new life.
He gave up a double, a triple, a homer and threw two wild pitches in 1 1/3 innings.