The New Yankees opened their three-game series against the Cleveland Indians with a 7-1 win at Yankee Stadium on Monday night. Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning to power the Yankees' offense. Hiroki Kuroda (7-7) was solid on the mound, giving up just one earned run off five hits and two walks while striking out seven in seven innings of work.
Cano went 2-for-4 at the plate for the night. He gave the Yankees two runs in the first inning with a double to deep center, scoring Curtis Granderson and Mark Teixeira. Dewayne Wise hit his first home run of the season in the second to add two more runs on the board.
By the time Indians starter Josh Tomlin (3-5) left after the third inning, he had allowed six earned runs, four of which came off three home runs. For the night, Tomlin allowed six hits and two walks while striking out three.
Wise hit a triple off reliever Scott Barnes in the seventh to score Eric Chavez for the second time on the night. The hit gave the Yankees a 7-0 lead. With the 2-for-3 performance, Wise improved his season batting average from .133 to .182 in just 33 at-bats.
The Indians notched their only run of the game in the eighth inning. Kuroda gave up a single to Lonnie Chisenhall and a double to Shin Soo Choo before being relieved by Clay Rapada with no outs in the inning. Two batters later, Jason Kipnis hit a sac fly to score Chisenhall.
Game 2 of the series will start at 7:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. Phil Hughes (7-6, 4.94 ERA) will take on Justin Masterson (4-6, 3.98) at the mound.
-- See Pinstripe Alley for complete discussion and analysis of the Yankees.