Granderson drives in three; Yanks win seventh in row

The Yankees were trying to beat two things Friday afternoon: Toronto and Hurricane Earl.

Under gray skies and with wind whipping around the Stadium as the storm made its way up the East Coast, they accomplished both tasks. They topped the Blue Jays, 7-3, for their seventh straight win, and did it quickly enough to avoid the expected rain and fiercer winds.

Playing without their usual 1-2-4 hitters - the resting Derek Jeter, the injured Nick Swisher and the hoping-to-return-soon Alex Rodriguez - the Yankees had 11 hits against a team that has given them trouble this year. Toronto leads the season series, 7-6.

"You can't have one or two guys carry the team," said Mark Teixeira, whose first-inning double gave him 99 RBIs. "That's just not going to happen."

Curtis Granderson, elevated to the two-hole, had two doubles, two walks and three RBIs a day after hitting two home runs and driving in three runs.

"I lucked up on a couple of balls today," said Granderson, who had one of his hits against lefthander Brian Tallet. He's 11-for-26 (.423) against lefties since Aug. 12.

Leadoff man Brett Gardner had two walks and an RBI triple and scored three runs. Lance Berkman had two hits in his first start since coming off the disabled list Wednesday. Ramiro Peña and Eduardo Nuñez, the fill-ins for Rodriguez and Jeter, also had two hits each as the Yankees moved a season-high 35 games over .500. "They had the right guys in the right spots," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said.

Travis Snyder homered off Ivan Nova in the first to give Toronto a 1-0 lead. But in the bottom of the inning, Teixeira's double off Brandon Morrow (10-7) and Robinson Cano's RBI groundout put the Yankees on top for good.

Granderson's two-out, two-run double in the second and Peña's RBI single with two outs in the third gave Nova a 5-1 lead. But the Jays closed to within 5-3 in the fourth, and Joe Girardi removed Nova after 42/3 innings with lefthanded-hitting Lyle Overbay due up as the potential go-ahead run. Nova, who needed one more out to qualify for the victory, appeared perturbed about being removed as he walked slowly off the mound. But he couldn't argue with the results, as lefthander Boone Logan struck out Overbay.

"He took me out at the right moment," said Nova, who allowed three runs, six hits and two walks. "We won. That's the most important thing."

Official scorer Bill Shannon awarded the victory to Kerry Wood, the third of four Yankees relievers. Wood (2-0 with the Yankees) pitched 12/3 perfect innings, striking out two. David Robertson and Mariano Rivera each threw a scoreless inning as the bullpen contributed 41/3 innings of hitless ball. "They were outstanding," Girardi said. "Woody was great, Robby did his job, Boone came in and did a job and Mo - Mo was Mo."

Gardner tripled home a run in the sixth and scored on Granderson's double to restore the Yankees' four-run advantage. Then they stayed ahead of the Blue Jays and the weather.

"I heard a couple different forecasts," Girardi said. "I heard we were OK. Then I heard it might be here around 4 o'clock. So I wasn't really too concerned about the weather. I managed to win the game. But I figured we'd play nine innings today."