Garcia breezes with big run support

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Sure, you predicted this out of spring training.

Two of the Yankees' most consistent starters two months into the season would be Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon.

One day after Colon threw his first shutout in five years, Garcia turned in another solid effort Tuesday night in the Yankees' 10-3 victory over the Athletics in front of 22,581 at Overstock.com Coliseum.

"I don't know where we're at without them, I really don't," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of the pair of veteran righthanders. "They've both given us a chance to win almost every game that they've pitched. Their numbers are outstanding and they just continue to do what they've done. They've pitched at a very high level."

Garcia (4-4, 3.34) allowed three runs, nine hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out five. Colon is 3-3 with a 3.36 ERA after his complete-game four-hitter the night before.

The Yankees (30-23), after dropping the first two games of this nine-game trip -- games in which they blew leads -- have won three straight. They've won nine straight against the A's and go for the sweep Wednesday afternoon when A.J. Burnett (5-3, 3.99) goes against lefhander Gio Gonzalez (5-2, 2.17).

For the second time in three games, the offense erupted, Tuesday night against another standout A's lefty, Brett Anderson (3-5), who came in with a 2.84 ERA. The Yankees battered Anderson over 51/3 innings, pounding out 11 of their 12 hits and scoring 10 runs, nine earned.

Derek Jeter had two hits, bringing him 17 shy of 3,000 for his career. Alex Rodriguez, who came in 3-for-17 with one RBI on this trip, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs Tuesday. Hours beforehand, he spent time in the clubhouse talking, mostly with a smile, about the results of a Sports Illustrated poll of major-leaguers who ranked as the sport's most "overrated" player.

Anderson hadn't given up a home run to a lefthanded batter in 15 starts dating to last season -- he gave up two Tuesday night, to Curtis Granderson, who had three hits, and Robinson Cano.

Nine of Granderon's team-high 17 homers have come off lefthanders.

"It is hard to believe," Girardi said of Granderson, who often found himself on the bench in 2010 against lefties. "The adjustment that this guy has made is remarkable."

The Yankees, as they did Monday, struck early, needing four pitches to get on the board.

Jeter swung at Anderson's first pitch and sent a hard bouncer up the middle, where second baseman Mark Ellis booted the ball. The play was scored a hit, giving Jeter 2,982 for his career. Granderson followed and crushed Anderson's 1-and-1 pitch, a 91-mph fastball, to right-center for a 2-0 lead.

Rodriguez made it 3-0 in the top of the third, his two-out bloop single to center bringing in Jeter, who reached on an error to lead off.

In the bottom half, the A's got on the board, though some lazy baserunning cost them a run. Kevin Kouzmanoff led off with a double down the leftfield line. The third baseman slowed as he approached first and didn't speed up appreciably as he rounded the bag. Andy LaRoche then tripled, scoring later on David DeJesus' two-out single.

The Yankees increased their lead to 5-1 in an eventful fourth inning. Nick Swisher singled with one out and went to third on Andruw Jones' blooper down the rightfield line. With Brett Gardner at the plate, the Yankees attempted a safety squeeze. Gardner missed the buntable pitch and Swisher strayed too far off third. The botched play went as a caught stealing, 2-5-6. Gardner was then hit by a pitch -- though at first, plate umpire Derryl Cousins ruled it a foul ball -- and Jeter followed with an infield single to load the bases. Granderson's single to right brought in Jones and Gardner.

In the bottom half, the A's had a chance to dent that lead but Garcia left the bases loaded.

"I'm not really surprised," Garcia said of his season to this point. "I've been in this game for a long time and I know how to go out there and do my business and get people out."

The Yankees made it 7-1 in the fifth, getting Cano's 11th homer of the season, a two-run shot to right on a 1-and-0 pitch.

The A's cut their deficit to 7-3 in the bottom of the fifth but the Yankees responded by blowing the game open, and knocking out Anderson, in the sixth. The inning featured a two-run single by A-Rod and a steal of home by Mark Teixeira, which made it 10-3.