Robinson Cano goes 4-for-4, hits 200th HR in Yankees' win

NEW YORK -- Robinson Cano was much more excited about the Yankees' latest win than his milestone homer.

Cano got his 200th career home run among his four hits and drove in four runs, Chris Stewart hit a go-ahead three-run drive and the Yankees rallied to hand the Toronto Blue Jays their record 10th consecutive loss in New York, 8-4 Tuesday in the opener of a split doubleheader.

The Yankees won for the seventh time in 10 games but are still six games out of an AL wild card.

"Right now, we're in a situation that we need to win games," Cano said. "It's good to hit 200 but it's great to win."

Cano was a triple shy of the cycle on a perfect day at the plate. He hit a three-run homer off Esmil Rogers in the third to pull New York within a run and added a RBI double in the seventh.

Ichiro Suzuki singled and doubled, leaving him one shy of 4,000 combined hits during his careers in Japan and the major leagues. With fans standing and chanting "Ichi-ro!" in the eighth, he grounded out. Suzuki was not in the lineup for the second game.

"Four thousand is just as important as any other number for me," Suzuki said through a translator.

New York's Ivan Nova (7-4) was tagged for four runs in the second inning when Toronto batted around in the makeup of a rained-out game on May 19. But he scattered five hits the rest of his outing that ended with one out and Jose Reyes on first in the seventh inning.

The Blue Jays loaded the bases with two outs on consecutive walks by Shawn Kelley, but Brett Lawrie flied out to center field to end the threat.

Mariano Rivera was called on to get the final two outs after Joba Chamberlain walked Rajai Davis with one out in the ninth.

Toronto slugger Jose Bautista was removed from the team's seventh straight loss to the Yankees before the bottom of the fourth inning because of soreness in his left hip. The Blue Jays last lost seven in a row to New York in 1999.

Manager John Gibbons said Bautista was having tests on the hip and would not be available for the nightcap.

"He felt it a couple of days ago and said it was no big deal but all of that standing around in the outfield during all of those pitches aggravated it," Gibbons said. "He hurt it on a slide, maybe our last game back home but it wasn't enough to knock him out."

During the game, Major League Baseball announced Yankees manager Joe Girardi was fined $5,000 for his on-field tirade after Boston's Ryan Dempster hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch on Sunday. Dempster was suspended five games and fined $2,500.

Girardi refused to comment on the suspension and fines but did reiterate what he said earlier in the day, that he's worried a light penalty would encourage "open season" on A-Rod.

"We'll find out," Girardi said. "I sure hope not."

Yankees fans appeared to ease up on the booing of Rodriguez in the team's first game back in New York after he homered and had three hits to lead a comeback win over Boston following Dempster's plunking. When A-Rod ducked out of the way of Rogers' high pitch Tuesday, fans lustily jeered the right-hander.

Rodriguez singled to start the sixth -- to cheers -- and he scored on Stewart's fourth homer of the season, a shot to left field off Neil Wagner (2-4) that put New York ahead 6-4.

Stewart went 173 at-bats since May 15 against Seattle before connecting for his next homer.

The Yankees have scored 57 runs over their last seven games, and Cano is impressed.

"You can see a different lineup," Cano said of New York's recent success at the plate. "You've got (Alfonso) Soriano. You got (Curtis) Granderson, Alex. It's been a huge difference."

Rogers was lifted after Rodriguez's single. He allowed four runs and seven hits in five-plus innings.

Davis' two-run double with two outs in the second highlighted the four-run second. Maicer Izturis had a run-scoring single, and Kevin Pillar got his first RBI with a groundout to shortstop. Pillar still doesn't have a big league hit, though. He went 0-for-4 and is hitless in 17 at-bats.

"He pitched well. He made his mistakes early and we didn't put good wood on anything after that second inning," Davis said of Nova. "We had bases loaded and didn't get guys in; it happens sometimes."

Cano had an RBI double in the seventh, and Brett Gardner added a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Game notes

Suzuki has 1,278 hits in Japan and 2,721 in the majors. ... Yankees SS Derek Jeter (right calf strain) played his second simulated game at the team's complex in Tampa, Fla. He ran the bases for the first time. ... Blue Jays RHP Thad Weber was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on Monday but was recalled as the 26th man for the doubleheader. ... Toronto LHP Mark Buehrle (9-7) is set to start Game 2 against New York RHP Phil Hughes (4-12).