Cano extends power surge with 20th homer

Remember when Robinson Cano was going through a power drought? That seems like a distant memory now.

Cano continued his power surge into July, hitting his 20th home run Sunday in a 4-2 win over the White Sox at the Stadium. His two-run shot broke a 2-2 tie in the third inning.

Cano hit four homers in his first 42 games. Who would have thought he'd be on a pace for 40 after that slow start? He has 16 in his last 36 games and has homered in nine of his last 14. He batted .340 with 11 homers, 21 RBIs and a 1.146 OPS in June.

"I have just been able to put everything together," Cano said. "My swing has been the same. I am just taking advantage when they're throwing pitches over the plate. Obviously, it's been a great feeling."

Cano, whom the fans voted in as the starting American League All-Star second baseman for the third consecutive season, has displayed why he deserves it.

For a while, Cano wasn't putting up All-Star numbers. He batted .267 with one home run and four RBIs in April. It got better in May with a .312 average, seven home runs, 19 RBIs and a .970 OPS before he had a great June. Overall, Cano is batting .310 with 55 runs, 20 home runs, 46 RBIs and a .962 OPS.

"It's real encouraging," manager Joe Girardi said. "He's playing a lot of baseball and you see why he's one of the most dangerous hitters in the game.''

The day didn't start well for Cano. Already trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the first, the Yankees loaded the bases with none out to bring up Cano -- who grounded into a 1-2-3 double play.

After Eric Chavez tied the score with a two-run homer in the second, Mark Teixeira walked with one out in the third. Cano got ahead of Gavin Floyd 3-and-1 and swung through a high, outside pitch that would have been ball four. Then he launched No. 20.

"I just had to get it done my next at-bat," he said. "I don't think about it. It's hard to do it all. I didn't do it with the bases loaded. I had another three or four at-bats, and you just think positive."

Thinking positive is what Yankees fans do when Cano bats these days. He is only nine homers short of his career-high 29 in 2010, and with 84 games left, he should surpass that easily.

"He's comfortable," Derek Jeter said. "When Robbie gets locked in, he's tough to get out because he hits the ball all over the place. We've seen him do this before. When he gets locked in, he gets a lot of hits. Probably not this many home runs.

"Robbie knows how to hit. When you play this game, you go through stretches where you feel good and you feel bad. When you feel good like he does right now, he's pretty tough to pitch to."