Surging Cano falls triple short of hitting for cycle

Sometime last night, Robinson Cano might have thought about a Leche toast.

Cano fell a triple short of the cycle when he struck out swinging against the Tigers' Jose Valverde to end the eighth inning. Hence the reason to salute his friend Melky Cabrera, whose nickname is Leche, which means "milk'' in Spanish.

Cabrera, now an Atlanta Brave, hit for the cycle last Aug. 2 in Chicago. He's the only Yankee to accomplish the feat since Tony Fernandez in 1995.

Other than missing out on the cycle, Cano, who was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored in Thursday's 11-5 rout of the Tigers at the Stadium, has this hitting gig down pat.

Cano's shot off reliever Eddie Bonine nestled atop the netting covering Monument Park in centerfield, capping a nine-run sixth inning that broke open a 2-2 game. Cano's third homer in as many games was his 24th, one shy of last year's career high.

The power surge has coincided with his move into the cleanup role in place of Alex Rodriguez, who is day-to-day with a calf injury.

"He's been tremendous,'' Joe Girardi said of his second baseman. "He's stepped into that 4 hole and he's done a good job for us. We're without Alex for a few days and Robbie stepped up. He's stepped up all year.''

Rick Porcello kept the Yankees hitless until Mark Teixeira's one-out single in the fourth. Cano, who didn't address the media after the game, followed with a single, moving Teixeira to third. Nick Swisher's single on a 3-and-0 pitch drove in a run and Curtis Granderson's two-out single made it 2-2.

After Teixeira walked to lead off the sixth against Porcello, Cano lined an RBI double to left-center that rolled to the wall, just left of the 399-foot sign in front of the visitors' bullpen. Cano is batting .325, fifth-best in baseball, with 59 extra-base hits.

"Robinson Cano is swinging the bat as he has all year,'' Swisher said. "And hitting is contagious. Right now, everyone's locking in. [Yesterday] it just seemed like, after one hit, then came another, and another. We just wanted to keep that line rolling.''

The Yankees have scored 26 runs in their last three games after getting a total of one in the two before that. Their nine-run sixth featured six hits, four walks and a passed ball.

Cano's homer had an added bonus, as it saved Phil Hughes from accumulating another inning toward his season limit.

"I was probably going out for the seventh before Cano's homer [because] my pitch count was decent,'' said Hughes, who threw 84 in six innings.

Alas, a late-inning triple by Cano was not to be.

Cheers, Leche.