Sabathia wins 19th with 8 innings of 1-hit ball

In a Yankees rotation filled with uncertainty, CC Sabathia is the one sure thing.

Sabathia allowed one hit in eight innings Thursday to secure his 19th win of the season as the Yankees defeated the Oakland Athletics, 5-0, for their sixth straight win. By completing the four-game sweep of the A's, the Yankees moved a season-high 34 games over .500 and increased their lead over the idle Tampa Bay Rays to 11/2 games.

Curtis Granderson, who entered in the second inning after Nick Swisher experienced tightness in his left knee, homered in the sixth and seventh and drove in three runs. Jorge Posada homered in the second to begin the scoring. But Sabathia's dominance overshadowed everything else on an unbearably hot afternoon in the Bronx.

Oakland's lone hit was Mark Ellis' single through the right side of the infield to lead off the second. Sabathia (19-5, 3.02 ERA) walked three, hit a batter and threw only 95 pitches. He earned his 15th win in his last 17 decisions, has a 2.40 ERA in that span and has given the Yankees everything they could have wanted when they signed him to a seven-year, $161-million contract two winters ago.

"He's been the one constant every time he's gone out," manager Joe Girardi said. "He's stabilized our rotation at a time when we've had some injuries and we've had some guys struggling, and that's what aces do."

This marks the third time in the last four years - and the second time in two years with the Yankees - that Sabathia has won 19 games. And with the likelihood of five more starts this year, he has an excellent chance to reach 20 for the first time.

"I think it'd be cool," Sabathia said. "But this is the middle of the season and it's tough to think about personal accomplishments when we're trying to win the division."

If Sabathia continues to pitch the way he did against the A's, he should cruise past 20 wins.

Posada's two-base throwing error allowed Oakland to put a runner on third with one out in the third, but Sabathia got Rajai Davis to foul out and struck out Kurt Suzuki to preserve the 1-0 lead. After Landon Powell flied out to leftfield to end the second, the A's didn't hit another ball out of the infield until Coco Crisp flied to right for the second out of the eighth.

You'd imagine someone Sabathia's size (6-7, 290 pounds) would have trouble competing in 92-degree heat and high humidity, especially considering that 6-1, 184-pound Oakland starter Dallas Braden (9-10) had to leave the game one batter into the sixth because of heat-induced cramping. But Sabathia said he likes pitching in the heat because he gets loose quicker.

Girardi also wondered if Sabathia's size helps him avoid wearing down at this time of year, referring to him as "a football player playing baseball." That got a chuckle out of Sabathia. "I could see myself playing offensive line," he said.

Sabathia improved his home record to 11-0 with a 2.27 ERA this season. Since the 2009 All-Star break, he is 16-0 with a 2.05 ERA in 149 innings spanning 21 starts at home.

With the Yankees appearing postseason-bound, given that Sabathia will pitch in Game 1 of a Division Series regardless of where the game is played, his dominance at home gives the Yankees all the more reason to try to finish ahead of the Rays.

"He knows how to pitch in this ballpark," Girardi said.

He also knows how to be an ace, something his teammates don't take for granted. When it was mentioned to Posada that Sabathia has thrived while being the only starter who hasn't struggled or gotten hurt, he cringed and turned his head away.

"Knock on wood, man," Posada said. "I don't even want to answer that . . . We need him."