No Captain? No problem, Yankees cruise

No Captain, no problem.

After the Yankees placed Derek Jeter on the 15-day disabled list with a right calf strain, his replacements at shortstop and in the leadoff spot -- Eduardo Nuñez and Brett Gardner -- drove in the first two runs of a six-run second inning in the Yankees' 12-4 victory over Texas Tuesday night at the Stadium.

The Rangers' Alexi Ogando came into the game with a 7-0 record and 2.10 ERA, but he lasted all of 12/3 innings and 53 pitches, including 42 in the second inning.

Nuñez came up with the bases loaded and sent a one-out liner into leftfield to start the scoring. After Francisco Cervelli made the second out, the Yankees scored five more runs in the inning, starting with Gardner's checked-swing single.

Speaking of Gardner, manager Joe Girardi said: "He's been really good since the first month. He's been on a roll.''

Girardi seemed especially pleased with Nuñez, who had two hits. Describing his message to Nuñez, Girardi said: "Don't try to be Derek Jeter. He's an exciting young player with speed, and he can do some things.''

A two-run single by Curtis Granderson and a two-run double by Mark Teixeira turned the second into a huge inning and drove Ogando out of the game. CC Sabathia gave up two runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth, but by then, the Yankees had a 9-4 lead after a solo homer by Nick Swisher in the third and a two-run double by Alex Rodriguez in the fourth.

In the sixth, the Yankees added a two-run homer by Granderson, his 21st, tying him with Toronto's Jose Bautista for the major-league lead, and a solo homer by Robinson Cano. Sabathia lasted seven innings, striking out six while improving to 8-4 as the Yankees cut Boston's AL East lead to 11/2 games.

The real drama centered around the performance of Jeter's replacements, both of whom delivered. Gardner reached base four times on three singles and a walk, scored three runs and recorded his 100th career stolen base. Asked if he envisions himself as the logical replacement for Jeter as leadoff man, he deferred to a player who stands six hits short of becoming the first 3,000-hit man in Yankees history.

"I don't know,'' Gardner said. "It's one of those things where, hopefully, that day doesn't come for a while . . . You're talking about a guy who is irreplaceable.''

Maybe so, but on this night, Gardner sure looked the part, even if his checked-swing RBI down the third-base line was a good break.

"Things went our way tonight,'' Gardner said. "I was very fortunate it squeaked down the line. But it's just one night. We've got a couple of lefties coming up.''

Nuñez said Jeter advised him to look for a fastball from Ogando before his run-scoring single.

"I hit a fastball, and he said, 'I told you,' '' Nuñez said with a laugh. "Derek gave me a lot of confidence.''