Cano Homers Twice in Yankees' Win over Blue Jays

Robinson Cano hit a pair of two-run homers to back a solid effort by David Phelps, and the New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays for the ninth straight time at Yankee Stadium, 7-2 Saturday.

Phelps (2-2) struck out eight while allowing one run in a season-high seven innings, helping New York beat the Blue Jays for the eighth time in nine games this season.

Cano connected off Brandon Morrow with two outs in the third after Brett Gardner drove in the first run of the game with an RBI single. Cano also hit one off Morrow (1-3) with two out in the fifth, a shot that gave him his second multihomer game of the year. He has 12 such games for his career.

Travis Hafner returned to the Yankees' lineup after missing five games because of right shoulder inflammation and hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning.

The AL East's top team will send ace CC Sabathia to the mound Sunday with a chance to complete its second sweep of Toronto in the Bronx in three weeks. The Yankees took four straight from April 25-28. The Blue Jays counter with NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey.

Toronto has lost 23 of its last 28 games at Yankee Stadium.

Making his fourth start in place of the injured Ivan Nova, Phelps was at his best with runners on base. In the first, he walked Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion but picked Bautista off second base and struck out J.P. Arencibia to end the inning. With runners on first and second in the third, Phelps got Melky Cabrera to ground into a double play. After again walking Bautista, he struck out Encarnacion with a high fastball for the third out.

The Blue Jays cut the lead to 3-1 in the fourth. After Adam Lind had the first of his two doubles, Colby Rasmus hit a sharp liner that Curtis Granderson, playing right field for the first time in his big league career, got spun around on and Lind scored. But Phelps struck out Maicer Izturis to limit the damage.

Phelps was greeted on the field just in front of the dugout with a handshake from manager Joe Girardi after a 1-2-3 seventh. Phelps yielded six hits and walked three.

David Robertson gave up Encarnacion's homer in a rainy eighth inning.

Morrow had his start pushed back from Wednesday because of neck and back tightness, and the rest appeared to have served him well early. He retired six in a row before Jayson Nix singled to start the third.

With two outs, Gardner singled to center field and third base coach Rob Thomson signaled Nix home with a feverish windmill of his right arm. Nix slid in before the throw arrived.

Cano then sent the next pitch on the shortest possible journey out of the ballpark, just clearing the fence down the right-field line. Cano hit his 12th of the year in the fifth with a no-doubter to right-center, driving in Austin Romine, who singled.

Morrow was lifted after throwing 75 pitches in five innings. He allowed seven hits and five runs.