Deep in the heart of Texas, the Yankees’ bats shone against Jack Leiter and the Rangers, and Gerrit Cole got off to another good start before leaving with cramps in an 8-4 victory. The Bombers won on the strength of the five-run rally they put together in the sixth inning. Gleyber Torres set the tone with three hits and two RBIs, Anthony Rizzo and Aaron Judge scored plenty of runs in that crucial sixth inning, and Giancarlo Stanton sealed the victory with a home run.

Cole got into some trouble briefly in the first inning, but handled the situation skillfully, striking out Nathaniel Lowe on the outside corner, leaving two players standing. He came out with a vengeance in the second inning, striking out two more with two brilliant heaters. Leiter was up to the task, handling the first inning with hard contact before closing down the middle of the lineup with a dominant 1-2-3 in the second.

The Yankees’ lineup found its first chance against the young right-hander Leiter in the third inning. Anthony Volpe, facing his teammate from Delbarton for the first time in an MLB game, brought his first pitch to right field, and Alex Verdugo got an infield hit(!) with a chopper to third base. Then came the confident Gleyber, who opened the game with a single. He managed a 3-1 slider and got an apparent walk, but Bruce Dreckman ruled it a strike. Undeterred, Torres went back to the box and ripped Leiter’s next throw into the gap between left center to bring both runners home and give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.

In the next half-inning, the Rangers managed to get a run. With Marcus Semien on first base, former Yankee farmhand Josh Smith hit a hit into the gap in left center. When Judge caught the ball, he hesitated and double-pumped, and Semien didn’t stop running to score from first base. Smith came in with a hustle double to second base, cutting New York’s lead in half.

In the fifth inning, Volpe faced Leiter again and hit a slider deep into left field. For a moment it looked like it was going to go through, but Wyatt Langford caught it at the wall. The two Jersey boys smiled sheepishly as Volpe jogged back to the dugout.

The penalty on the third run through the order came back to haunt Leiter and the Rangers in the sixth. Torres got an infield hit for three hits in three attempts against the right-hander, then Soto hit one right up the middle to set up Judge’s score. In the first, he chased a 111.4 mph fastball into Langford’s glove. This time, he got what he deserved with a 110.7 mph fastball that bounced just down the left field line for an RBI double and chased Leiter from the game.

Veteran reliever Chase Anderson entered the game with two outs in scoring position and promptly scared the Yankees by hitting Austin Wells right on the wrist. Wells stayed in the game and with the bases loaded, Jazz Chisholm hit a single to right to score Soto. Rizzo then placed the next pitch cleanly just down the left field line to score two and bounced into the stands for an automatic double.

To top it all off, Anderson then threw a ball into the dirt that slid past catcher Jonah Heim and was a wild pitch that scored Chisholm from third base. All nine New York batters had their turn before Verdugo’s popout put the team out of the game.

This offensive breakthrough was a welcome sight. Over the last week or so, the Yankees have missed their chances to punish sagging opposing pitchers, but tonight they stayed disciplined and took big cuts to produce brilliant results. If the Yankees can keep this up, their lineup will seem endless to opposing pitchers.

Cole threw a quick and clean sixth inning, although his velocity dropped. When he came out for the seventh inning, he only threw a few warm-up pitches before summoning the training staff and leaving the game. Something with his standing leg was obviously bothering him, and he knew he couldn’t overdo it. That capped another great outing in which he had six strikeouts and only one run on four hits.

David Cone suggested on the broadcast that Cole might just be cramping, and his diagnosis was correct. This is great news for the Yankees, who need Cole healthy to lead their playoff rotation.

Luke Weaver relieved Cole and allowed a long home run to Langford that made the game 7-3. He allowed another loud hit from Semien right to the edge of the track – essentially the same spot as Volpe’s wall-scratching hit in the fifth inning. Just as dark thoughts were creeping into the minds of Yankee fans, Giancarlo Stanton wiped them away with a mighty hit over the center field wall for his 25th home run.

The 418-footer is also the 427th of his career, putting him ahead of Cubs legend Billy Williams and tied with another Hall of Famer, Mike Piazza. Only 50 players in MLB history have hit more home runs than Giancarlo Cruz-Michael Stanton.

Having thrown only eight pitches in the last six days, Clay Holmes came in with one on and one out in the ninth inning to get some work done. He promptly allowed a double from Langford to make things exciting; the late innings are endless interesting this year.

Holmes then traded a run for an out on a grounder from Heim before issuing a walk to Taveras to flip the lineup. Fortunately, Gleyber Torres made a wonderful play on a shot to center from Semien to secure the elusive 27th out (while also leaving the potential tying run, Seager, in the on-deck circle). It was a fitting end to a great night for the Yankees second baseman, who led the offense tonight.

New York avoided losing first place to Baltimore with this win, as the Orioles also won. But it’s not too easy to breathe a sigh of relief. The Yanks won the opening games of their last two series before losing the next two games. They’ll try to avoid that tomorrow in another showdown between left-handers. Carlos Rodón will face Andrew Heaney in the middle game; first pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. ET on YES.

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