Rangers Beat Yankees

ARLINGTON, Texas — At three runs per game, Texas left-hander Martin Perez has received the lowest run support in the Rangers rotation.

But three was enough on Wednesday.

Shortstop Elvis Andrus’ two-out triple in the sixth scored second baseman Rougned Odor with the go-ahead run in Texas’ 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees, making a winner out of the 25-year-old Perez (1-2) for the first time this season.

Perez turned in his fourth quality start of the season, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks and striking out three for Texas (12-10), which has now won two consecutive games.

Left-handed reliever Jake Diekman pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, and right-handed closer Shawn Tolleson worked around designated hitter Alex Rodriguez’s base hit in the ninth to record his seventh save.

“After the first three innings, I was just trying to throw strikes and throw the ball where I wanted and harder later in the game,” Perez said. “I think that helped me stay focused.”

Rodriguez went 3-for-3, including a double, solo home run in the fourth and

a walk. Second baseman Starlin Castro went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the second.

Sabathia (1-2) suffered the loss for New York (8-12), which has now scored three or fewer runs in 15 of its 20 games to start the season.

“It’s been a struggle,” New York manager Joe Girardi said. “I think our at-bats were good tonight, and if you put good at-bats together that will eventually change.

“It’s baseball and it happens and you have to deal with it. But you need perspective, it’s 20 games. We got a long ways to go.”

The Rangers got some help from Sabathia, who walked three hitters, two who eventually scored, including Odor’s two-out free pass before Andrus’ decisive at-bat in the sixth.

Andrus entered the game a .455 hitter against the Yankees’ hurler. Manager Joe Girardi had no one throwing in the bullpen. Andrus slapped Sabathia’s offering to the gap in left-center field.

“I liked the way he was throwing the baseball. I thought he deserved to be out there,” Girardi said. “At that point, it was his game.”

First baseman Hanser Alberto had an RBI in the second off a groundout, and third baseman Adrian Beltre registered a run-scoring hit in the third.

Sabathia gave up three runs on five hits and struck out five.

Perez, who gave up eight runs on seven hits in his only previous career start against New York last July, also continued the rotation’s strong start, running the unit’s streak of outings with at least five innings to a club-record 22 consecutive games to begin the season.

Perez, who has received 11 runs in his five starts this season, was helped out by two more double plays, including one in the second that limited potential damage after he walked the first two hitters. Perez now has induced a major-league-leading 11 double plays.

He left runners stranded in three innings.

“They do a great job,” Perez said of his defense. “I threw the pitch where I wanted it, and we got an important out in that situation.”

The teams traded runs in the second to open the scoring, Texas answering a one-run deficit on an unusual play.

With runners on second and third with one out, Hanser Alberto, a utility infielder playing first base, hit a slow comebacker to Sabathia, who looked Ryan Rua back to third before throwing to first for the out.

Rua broke for home. First baseman Mark Teixeira’s throw from first was wide to catcher Brian McCann, who immediately threw to third to record the final out on Odor trying to advance, creating a 1-3-2-5 inning ender.

Alberto was credited with an RBI.

Texas added a run on Beltre’s two-out base hit in the third, but Rodriguez evened the score at 2-all with a solo home run in the fourth.

Sabathia labored early, allowing base runners on in each of the first three innings. But he retired six straight in the fourth and fifth innings, including three by strikeout.

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