Rangers 10, Yankees 1
ARLINGTON, Texas -- It was only a matter of time before the Texas Rangers starting hitting and scoring runs again, according to their manager.
That time came Tuesday night.
The Rangers snapped a four-game losing streak while overpowering the New York Yankees 10-1 at Globe Life Park.
Texas improved to 11-10 going into Wednesday afternoon's rubber game of the three-game series. New York (8-11) had won three of its last four games after taking Monday night's series opener.
The Rangers racked up 13 hits in their highest scoring game of the season. Texas scored only five runs during its four-game skid.
Despite the slump, Rangers manager Jeff Banister preached patience before the game.
"What we need to do is just not panic, not be reactionary, continue to stay with our approach," he said. "This is the time we need to stay stubborn with that we do."
Texas starter A.J. Griffin, staked to a big lead early, was the beneficiary of the outburst and cruised to third win in four starts. Griffin (3-0) would have been fine with much less support.
The 28-year-old right-hander kept the Yankees guessing. New York had only four hits against Griffin, who went eight innings and struck out five.
The Yankees ended Griffin's shutout bid in the seventh on Mark Teixeira's hard-hit infield single to bring Brett Gardner home.
New York starter Luis Severino (0-3) remained winless after allowing six runs in three innings.
Texas' Ian Desmond and Rougned Odor backed Griffin with home runs, each hitting their third of the year. Elvis Andrus went 3-for-4 to boost his average to .343.
The Rangers got to Severino in the first on Prince Fielder's two-out single to center that scored Nomar Mazara.
Severino ran into much more trouble in the third, as Texas scored five times with two outs. The rally really began when Fielder was walked intentionally with two outs to load the bases.
Severino, 22, then couldn't find the strike zone, walking Desmond to force in the Rangers' second run. Mitch Moreland followed with a two-run single, a wild pitch plated Desmond, and Andrus' RBI single made it 6-0.
The night was done for Severino after three innings, his shortest stint in eight career starts. The youngest starter in the majors had never gone less than five innings.
Desmond hit his third home run of the season in the fifth against reliever Ivan Nova for a 7-0 lead.
NOTES: Yankees manager Joe Girardi would outlaw the shift if he were commissioner. "I just think the field was built this way for a reason," Girardi said. Ironically, New York RHP Nathan Eovaldi's no-hitter was broken up Monday with a seventh-inning single through the largely vacated left side of the infield. Had the Yankees not been a shift, the ground ball likely would have been in easy out. ... New York DH Alex Rodriguez (oblique) said Tuesday that he hopes to return to the lineup soon. He said he took 25 swings off a tee Monday and felt fine. ... Rangers third base coach Tony Beasley begins five weeks of radiation treatment in Houston next week. He was diagnosed with rectal cancer in February.