Teixeira’s slide inspires Yankees to victory

Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch twice tonight in the Yankees’ 12-3 victory over the Texas Rangers.  On the second one, he snapped, eventually breaking up a double play with a hard slide in the fourth inning.

After that slide, the Yankees scored five runs, giving enough breathing room for A.J. Burnett.  He gutted through seven innings, striking out eight on 110 pitches.  He allowed three earned runs, all on a long home run by Nelson Cruz.

Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter each had three hits.  Posada drove in four runs, including three on a long home run to right.  Robinson Cano and Hideki Matsui had two hits apiece.  Like Posada, Matsui hit a three-run home run as well.

All in all, it was a nice win for New York, even though the errorless streak ended when Posada air-mailed a throw to second base attempting to catch a runner stealing.  They are now 10 games over .500 and maintained their one-game lead over the Red Sox in the AL East.  The 12 runs scored were a season-high.

Andy Pettitte will face Scott Feldman tomorrow night at the Stadium.