Bronx, NY – Robinson Cano and DeWayne Wise each homered and drove in three runs, while Hiroki Kuroda pitched well into the eighth inning as the Yankees downed the Indians, 7-1, in the opener of a three-game series.
Nick Swisher also homered behind Kuroda (7-7), who got back to .500 thanks to surrendering just one run on five hits and two walks in seven-plus frames.
Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin (3-5) was quickly pulled after surrendering six runs on six hits and a pair of walks in just three innings.
"You could tell from the get-go he didn't have command of his pitches," Indians manager Manny Acta said of Tomlin.
The Indians did not score until Jason Kipnis' sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, and by that time they were already trailing 7-0 en route to a third straight loss.
The Yankees, coming off two straight wins over the rival Mets, scored twice in each of the first three innings Monday to take control.
With runners on the corners and one out in the first, Cano sent a gapper to right field that scored Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira.
Though Cano was thrown out trying to stretch the double into a triple, the hosts doubled their lead the next inning when Wise turned on a hanging breaking ball and sent it over the wall in right-center for a two-run homer. Eric Chavez singled ahead of the blast.
Cano went deep in the third, the sixth time he's homered in the past eight games, and Swisher immediately followed with an opposite-field shot into the first row of seats in left field for a 6-0 lead.
"We feel like we have some great arms in our locker room. If we can give them a couple of runs here and there, it's only going to up our chances," Swisher said.
Scott Barnes, recalled from Triple-A Columbus before the game, relieved Tomlin and did not give up a hit until the sixth, when Wise laced a line drive to the wall in right-center for a triple. Eric Chavez, who had reached on a walk, was running on the pitch and scored from first without a play at the plate.
Kuroda was pulled after yielding a pair of hits to start the eighth, and Clay Rapada was on the mound when Lonnie Chisenhall scored on Kipnis' sac fly.
Game Notes
Coming into the game, Wise had not driven in a run in 30 at-bats...The Yankees upped their Major League-high home run total to 115. They have hit at least two homers in five straight games...The Indians optioned Jeanmar Gomez to their top minor league affiliate to make room on their roster for Barnes...Shin-Soo Choo had two of Cleveland's five hits.
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