Granderson homers twice as Yanks get split

BALTIMORE -- Curtis Granderson might just have to deal with it the rest of the way -- being called a home run hitter, a characterization he's good-naturedly deflected all season, and being mentioned prominently as an AL MVP candidate, a more recent superlative.

Nights like this one are making both descriptions difficult for even Granderson to dispute.

Granderson hit two of his team's five homers in Game 2 of Sunday's split doubleheader -- Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher and Andruw Jones also hit consecutive homers in the sixth -- as the Yankees beat the Orioles, 8-3, at Camden Yards after dropping Game 1, 2-0. They remained two games behind the Red Sox.

Injuries to Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter put somewhat of a damper on the victory. Rodriguez's thumb acted up and Jeter's right knee contusion left him limping and caused him to be a late scratch from Game 2.

"They weren't really capable of playing," Joe Girardi said. "We need to get them healthy. It is somewhat of a concern. Hopefully, neither one of them will be out very long, but I don't know if we'll have either one of them tomorrow. ''

Granderson hit a three-run homer in the third off Brian Matusz and a solo shot in the seventh off Mark Hendrickson. That gave him the major-league lead in homers (38), RBIs (107) and runs (121). It was his 14th and 15th homers off lefthanders, and he has 10 homers and 21 RBIs in his last 18 games.

So how many would he have to hit to call himself a home run hitter? "I'm not sure what the number would be,'' he said. "It's one of those freak things. I was thinking the home run guys, they hit mammoth shots. And mine, as long as they just get over, it doesn't matter how far they go. But I'm still not in that Alex [Rodriguez] category or Big Papi or Adrian Gonzalez category that can just do it at will. At least I think they can.''

The large number of Yankees fans in the crowd of 37,528 chanted "MVP! MVP!" as Granderson made his way around the bases.

Granderson said of the chants, "I hear them, but I really don't pay much attention to them. It's just one of those things a lot of people talk about, and then right behind it, you get the 'you ---- ' chants, so it's a mix of both of them."

In the sixth, Cano (23 homers, 95 RBIs) hit a two-run homer and Swisher (No. 20) and Jones (No. 11) made it back-to-back-to-back drives to leftfield for a 7-3 lead. It was the first time the Yankees hit three homers in an inning since May 20, 2009, against Baltimore at Yankee Stadium (Swisher, Cano, Melky Cabrera).

After allowing a single by Adam Jones that loaded the bases with none out in the eighth, David Robertson struck out Vladimir Guerrero, Mark Reynolds and Ryan Adams on nasty curveballs to preserve the lead for Ivan Nova (14-4), who has won his last 10 decisions. The Yankees are 17-5 in his 22 starts.

The only negative was A-Rod and Jeter. Regarding his injury -- which occurred when he fouled the ball off the top of his right kneecap in his second at-bat of Game 1 and was severe enough to require an X-ray between games that came back negative -- Jeter said: "We iced it in between games and afterward it swelled up and it became a challenge. You guys asked me between games, and when I told you I was fine, I really was fine. It was really bizarre, to be honest with you. After we iced it is when it swelled up."

Jeter was seen seated in a cart outside the clubhouse after Game 2, presumably to be driven to the team bus.

The Game 1 loss produced more of a positive vibe than a negative one for the Yankees. That's because Bartolo Colon produced the kind of start that had the Yankees thinking earlier in the year that he could be a realistic option for Game 2 of a playoff series.

"It's real encouraging for us,'' Girardi said. "He had struggled a little bit and hadn't been as sharp. But I thought he was real sharp today. Maybe the extra rest helped recharge him a little bit and got him going.''

Colon (8-9) shut out the Orioles before allowing a run in the seventh and eighth. He looked much more like the pitcher who had a 2.88 ERA as late as July 2 than the one who was winless in his previous four starts with a 7.94 ERA in the previous two."I was using every single pitch I have,'' said Colon, who allowed seven hits and walked none in 72/3 innings, his longest outing since a complete game May 30 in which he shut out the A's in Oakland. "My sinker and slider were helping me a lot today.''

Girardi believes Colon's best pitch is his two-seam fastball and thought he strayed from using it during his slump. Colon used it liberally this time.

"Joe is right. It's my best pitch; I have to trust in it,'' Colon said. "It was a big pitch for me today.''

Colon took the loss mostly because the Yankees failed to score, or even get a runner to second, against rookie lefty Zach Britton (8-9) and two relievers. Mark Teixeira had three of the Yankees' five hits.

Colon's fastball velocity had fallen off from where it was earlier in the season. But he reached 96 mph in the sixth, and his 100th pitch of the afternoon, in the eighth, came in at 95 mph.

The Orioles broke through in the seventh when Nick Markakis led off with a double and scored on Guerrero's one-out single. Colon nearly got out of an eighth-inning jam after the Orioles put runners at the corners with none out, but J.J. Hardy's two-out single made it 2-0.

Colon now has pitched 1382/3 innings, his mostsince throwing 2222/3 in his AL Cy Young Award-winning season of 2005. He pitched on his regular four days' rest after five straight starts on five days' rest.

"I'm a little bit older, but I've always pitched every five days,'' the 38-year-old said. "I like every five days, but if they give me an extra day, I'll take it too.''