Cano, Hughes lead Yankees

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Phil Hughes returned to form with seven strong innings, Robinson Cano hit a grand slam and the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 8-2 on Friday night.

Hughes struck out the first five batters he faced and allowed two runs and five hits in his best start since he tossed seven scoreless innings in a win at Detroit on May 12. The right-hander went 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA in his first six games of the season but struggled in each of his previous two outings.

Cano collected three hits and scored three times while manning the cleanup spot for Alex Rodriguez, who got the day off after the Yankees arrived in New York early Friday morning. It was Cano’s first time in the fourth spot of the starting lineup.

Russell Branyan hit his fifth homer and Jhonny Peralta had an RBI double for Cleveland, mired in last in the AL Central. Center fielder Trevor Crowe made an outstanding catch on Juan Miranda’s drive to deep right-center in the fourth.

Fausto Carmona (4-3) gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings to lose his second consecutive start.

Coming off a 3-3 trip that closed out a challenging stretch of its schedule, New York improved to 14-6 at Yankee Stadium by taking the opener of a seven-game homestand. The next couple of weeks look much easier for the defending World Series champions, with 13 of their next 16 games against cellar dwellers Cleveland, Baltimore and Houston.

Nick Swisher hit a two-run homer, Derek Jeter had two infield singles and Curtis Granderson looked fine in his first game since May 1. Granderson, who was sidelined with a strained left groin, reached base three times.

Swisher’s drive in the second inning bounced high off the right-field foul pole and gave New York a 2-0 lead. Peralta drove in Travis Hafner with a liner into the left-field corner in the fourth but the Yankees responded with two runs in the sixth and four in the seventh.