Ivan Nova pitched into the seventh inning in his first start in more than 14 months and the New York Yankees routed the Philadelphia Phillies 10-2 on Wednesday afternoon to avoid being swept in a three-game series.
Nova (1-0) returned from Tommy John surgery to allow just three hits and two walks in 6 2/3 shutout innings. The 28-year-old right-hander threw 91 pitches, including 51 strikes.
Mark Teixeira had three hits and two RBI for the Yankees, who snapped a three- game losing streak.
The Phillies, after scoring 11 runs in each of the first two games of the series, didn't cross the plate until a two-run rally in the ninth inning on Wednesday that included an RBI single by Domonic Brown.
The had a three-game winning streak snapped.
Philadelphia ace Cole Hamels (5-6) remained winless in his last five starts after allowing five runs on eight hits in five innings. It was the second time in his last three starts that Hamels, who has had poor run support over his winless streak, allowed five runs.
The Yankees took a 2-0 lead on a throwing error in the second inning after loading the bases with no outs on Chris Young's single, John Ryan Murphy's walk and Did Gregorius' bunt hit.
Young and Murphy scored when third baseman Andres Blanco bounced a throw past catcher Carlos Ruiz after fielding Jose Pirela's ground ball.
New York pushed its lead to 5-0 with three runs in the fourth on RBI singles by Brett Gardner and Teixeira sandwiched around an RBI double by Chase Headley down the line past Blanco.
The Yankees had three singles off Jake Diekman in the sixth, including an RBI hit with two outs by Young. They tacked on four runs in the seventh on Pirela's RBI double, Alex Rodriguez's two-run single and Teixeira's RBI hit.
[SportsNetwork.com]
