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Their No. 3 hitter is in the midst of his annual April slump. Their cleanup hitter has gone powerless through nine games and their old No. 5 hitter is three time zones away.
Those factors have not stopped the Yankees from their best start in eight seasons. The reason: they have found their new No. 5 hitter and last night’s 6-2 victory over the Angels provided further evidence of a maturing Robinson Cano.
If Cano’s two home runs off lefty Scott Kazmir and three RBIs are an indication of a year-long performance then manager Joe Girardi will have made a successful lineup alteration for the second consecutive season. Remember he flipped-flopped Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon in the leadoff spot and everyone saw how well that worked out.
“For me, Robbie was the guy that I wanted to hit there, just because it allowed us to break up our left-handers extremely well," Girardi said. “And, I always believed he could do it.
So far, Cano is justifying Girardi’s faith. His fifth career two-home run game on Jackie Robinson Night concluded a 6-for-13 series and raised his batting average to .395.
Cano’s showing has overshadowed the slow starts of the big bats hitting directly ahead of him as Mark Teixeira is batting .091 and Alex Rodriguez has yet to homer – his longer season-opening streak without going deep since becoming a Yankee.
“I’m blessed hitting behind A-Rod and in front of Posada,” Cano said. “Those two guys have been in the big leagues for a long time. Both got great numbers and I’ve been blessed and that’s why I’ve been working and I’m still going to keep working hard because I want to stay there.”
The words from Cano are not hollow. He was delayed in addressing reporters and apologized because his first postgame destination was the weight room.
It is not like Cano has not experienced success before. He is a .306 career hitter entering this season but has bounced around in the lineup, often overshadowed by more established bats.
In some ways, he still is hitting behind established stars in Teixeira and Rodriguez but for now he is carrying them and not the other way around, which exemplifies the potential that has kept him a Yankee and helped them win series against three tough opponents.
"Robbie's always a tough out, because he can hit a lot of pitches, even when they're not strikes,” Jeter said. “He seems to get better each and every year.”
Cano was not the only homegrown Yankees to enjoy a good night, though his was certainly more special.
Phil Hughes made his long-awaited season debut after winning the fifth starter’s job in spring training. The right-hander partially won that battle by developing a changeup but that pitch rarely appeared as he threw just five based on scouting reports that showed the Angels to be a good hitting team against those pitches.
Most of Hughes’ other 108 pitches were good though he did issue five walks, caused by nibbling around the strike zone.
Hughes’ best pitch was the cutter, which was thrown to hitters on both sides of the plate in any situation. It also was the pitch that fanned Kendry Morales and Reggie Willits, who batted left-handed.
“The cutter is something I've worked on for a while now, and it felt good tonight. I threw it when guys were looking for fastballs, and it was really effective," Hughes said. "Sometimes in a fastball count, I almost prefer the cutter because it's moving away from the barrel, where a changeup sometimes fades toward the barrel."
Hughes gave up a second-inning home run to Hideki Matsui but never trailed afterwards thanks to Cano. He exited two batters into the sixth to a loud ovation and chants of his surname in contrast to Javier Vazquez the day before.
"I'm very happy with how he threw the baseball," Girardi said. "He shut down a lineup that is an offensive lineup. I'm very pleased with what he did."
Yankee Notes:
Chan Ho Park irritated his right hamstring while warming up in the sixth. He will be evaluated today.
Curtis Granderson batted .205 through nine games last season but is hitting .333 after tripling twice. He is the first Yankee to do so since Bobby Abreu on May 31, 2008 at the Metrodome and the first Yankee to triple in consecutive at-bats since Clay Bellinger on August 26, 2000 in Oakland.
Granderson’s night also included an outfield assist when he threw out Matsui to end the fourth.
“I ended up slipping,” Granderson said. “I was hoping I had enough of the ball to make it to the plate. It ended up being on line and accurate. You don’t have the best arm but as long as you’re accurate and sure enough to be able to slip and still be on line allowed Jorge Posada make a play.”
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