But neither did that big fat cheating ex-Yankee tub of goo, Bartolo Colon, pitch well. The much-hyped rookie Gleyber Torres, the much-hyped no-longer-rookie Aaron Judge, and the veteran Neil Walker all hit home runs off him. In Walker's case, it was his 1st of the season.
The game was tied 5-5 going into the 6th. Then, Torres took Colon deep again, for his 1st major league 2-homer game. Keep in mind: When Colon made his major league debut, on April 4, 1997, Torres was not yet 4 months old.
That homer provided the margin of victory, although the Yankees added more, including a home run by Aaron Hicks. Chad Green, David Robertson and Jonathan Holder provided solid relief.
Yankees 10, Rangers 5. WP: Tanaka (5-2). No save. LP: Colon (2-2).
*
The Yankees were never in the Tuesday night game. The Rangers roughed Domingo German up, scoring 3 runs off him in the 1st inning and 2 more in the 2nd, and coasted from there. The Yankees simply couldn't reach former Phillies star Cole Hamels until the 7th inning. Torres hit another homer, and others were added by Miguel Andujar and Austin Romine, but it wouldn't be enough.
Rangers 6, Yankees 4. WP: Hamels (3-4). SV: Keone Kela (9). LP: German (0-2).
*
The Wednesday game was a sickening end to a sickening series. The Yankees hit 4 home runs: Another by Torres, another by Judge, another by Walker, and one by Didi Gregorius. They led 3-0 before the Rangers even came to bat, and 4-0 going into the bottom of the 4th. And blew it. CC Sabathia lost his control, allowing 2 walks, a single, and 2 home runs, and, just like that, it was 5-4 Rangers.
But the Yankees scored 6 runs in the 5th, and suddenly it was 10-5 Yankees. But they blew this, too. For some reason, general manager Brian Cashman believes that Chasen Shreve belongs in the major leagues. He doesn't. But veterans David Robertson and Dellin Betances were not appreciably better.
Rangers 12, Yankees 10. WP: Alex Claudio (2-2). SV: Kela (10). LP: David Robertson (3-2).
The Yankees come home for a Memorial Day weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels of Run-On Sentences. They'd better get good pitching, because to get 14 runs and still go 0-2 is not good.