Teixeira hits three home runs as Yankees win, 14-3

BOSTON - Even as the Yankees piled up victories and series wins the first five weeks of the season, there was the question of what things might look like when their Nos. 3 and 4 hitters got it going. A preview might have come Saturday when the Yankees clobbered the Red Sox, 14-3, at Fenway Park.

In the victory, which lasted 3 hours, 56 minutes - not including a rain delay of 1:14 - Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez combined to reach base nine of 11 times they came to the plate.

Teixeira had a historic afternoon, homering three times to become the first Yankee to do so at Fenway since Lou Gehrig on June 23, 1927. Teixeira, who came in hitting .181 with two homers, went 4-for-6 with five RBIs, raising his average to .207.

"It feels great," Teixeira said. "This game will humble you and I was humbled the first few weeks of the season."

The Yankees (21-8), beset with injuries the past week, including Alfredo Aceves' departure from yesterday's game with stiffness in his lower back, have won six straight and nine of 10. The win secured their ninth series victory in their first 10 series of the season, a feat accomplished only twice before in franchise history - by the 1939 Yankees, who won 11 of their first 12 series, and the 1928 team, which won 14 of its first 15.

They had done so largely without consistent output from Teixeira and A-Rod, getting contributions from some unexpected sources. This time, they had 17 hits - two each by Derek Jeter, Brett Gardner, Rodriguez and Nick Swisher (three RBIs) - and drew 10 walks.

Then there was Francisco Cervelli, hitting .190 in Double-A Trenton when the Yankees called him up last year. He collected a career-high five RBIs and picked up three hits to raise his season average to .429.

"Alex and I haven't been having our normal production and guys have been stepping up," said Teixeira, whose two-run homer in the ninth came off Red Sox reserve outfielder Jonathan Van Every. "Robby [Robinson Cano] is stepping up, Nick Swisher, a lot of different guys are. Because of that, if we have a few guys that might be dinged up, it's time for Alex and I to start picking it up."

Joe Girardi never doubted his heralded 3-4 hitters would get hot. "These guys are going to hit, that's the bottom line. These guys are going to hit a lot," he said. "Hitters go through that, and that's why it's important to have a deep lineup."

Only a strike away from the game becoming official, CC Sabathia was denied a chance at his fifth win of the season when it suddenly began to pour.

With the Yankees ahead 6-3, two outs in the bottom of the fifth and a 2-and-2 count on Victor Martinez, crew chief Tim McClelland called for the tarp. Sabathia had thrown only 89 pitches, but he never got the chance to throw another one.

No matter. Five pitchers came in after Sabathia (three runs and four hits in 42/3 innings), whose fastball was not as sharp as in other outings this year, and kept the Red Sox in check as the offense continued to pile it on.

The Yankees, who scored in six of the last seven innings, have won 13 of the last 15 games between the teams and go for a sweep tonight. "Our motto all season has been win every series," Teixeira said. "We won the first two but it doesn't mean we're going to let up for tomorrow. Tomorrow would be a big win for us."