Masahiro Tanaka continued to be lights out for the Yankees, allowing just two hits while cruising through seven scoreless innings on just 82 pitches. New York is now 7-3 in games started by Tanaka this season.

Offensively, the Yankees used a three-run sixth inning, keyed by a two-run home run from Alex Rodriguez, to take a 3-0 lead. Carlos Beltran added insurance for the Yankees with an eighth inning solo shot, his second home run of the week, to make it 4-0.

Kirby Yates allowed a solo homer to Steve Pearce with two outs in the ninth, but Aroldis Chapman came in to cement the 4-1 win for the Yankees.

THE PLAY: A-Rod’s two-run blast in the 6th (+.216 WPA)

In just his second game back from injury, Alex Rodriguez blasted a two-run home run to center field, scoring Brian McCann to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning. The home run was Rodriguez’s sixth of the season.

TOP PERFORMERS

Yankees: Masahiro Tanaka (7 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 4 K, 0 BB)

Rays: Chris Archer (8 IP, 4 R (1 ER), 7 K, 3 BB, 2 HR)

NOTES

– Masahiro Tanaka didn’t allow his first hit until the bottom of the fifth when Steve Pearce led off with a single to center field.

– A-Rod’s sixth inning home run was the 693rd homer of his career, moving him closer to the vaunted 700 home run club.

– Jacoby Ellsbury is now 18-for-28 (.643) in his career against Chris Archer with a 2-for-4 performance tonight.

THE HIGHLIGHT: Starlin Castro’s spectacular play up the middle

UP NEXT

The Yankees (23-24) look to get to .500 with a win over Tampa Bay in game two of this series on Saturday afternoon at 4:10 pm. Michael Pineda (2-5, 6.34) takes the mound for New York while Matt Moore (1-3, 5.47) goes for the Rays in a battle of struggling righties. The game will be televised on WPIX 11.

Photo: Kim Klement / USATSI; Video: MLBAM

Chad Green made his major league debut on the mound for the Yankees, and was pitching just fine until a three-run home run by Jake Lamb in the fifth inning spoiled the evening. Lamb’s blast to right-center field broke a 2-2 tie, giving the D-Backs a 5-2 lead en route to a 12-2 victory over New York.

Arizona’s Robbie Ray pitched seven innings of two-run ball, scattering six hits while striking out six Yankees in the process.

Aaron Hicks had two deep fly-outs to the warning track, one to center (4th inning) and one to left (6th inning) before ripping a single up the middle in the ninth. The 4th inning fly-out proved productive as it advanced Beltran to third and Headley to second with just one out. Three hard-hit balls on the night could be a sign Hicks is seeing the ball better after a 2-for-30 (.067) start to the 2016 campaign.

With the loss, the Yankees fall to 4-11 on the road this season, the third-worst road mark in MLB behind Minnesota (4-17) and Cincinnati (3-13).

THE PLAY: Jake Lamb’s 3-run home run to make it 5-2 in the fifth (+.205 WPA)

TOP PERFORMERS

Yankees: Mark Teixeira (3-for-4, 1 run scored)

D-Backs: Robbie Ray (7 IP, 6 hits, 2 earned runs, 6 Ks, 1 BB)

NOTES

– Didi Gregorius went 1-for-4 with an error in his Arizona homecoming after playing 183 games for the D-Backs between 2013–14.

– Chad Green’s final line in his debut: 4 IP, 8 hits, 6 runs (4 earned), 5 Ks, 1 BB, 2 home runs; 79 pitchers, 46 strikes

– Paul Goldschmidt officially welcomed Green to the bigs with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning, his eighth of the season.

THE HIGHLIGHT: Ellsbury’s triple + error to score and tie it at 2-2

UP NEXT

Tuesday night’s game two match-up features Michael Pineda (1-4, 6.28) against Zack Greinke (3-3, 5.26) in a battle of two under-performing pitchers. Greinke is 2-4 with a 5.92 ERA in 12 career games against the Yankees, his worst mark against any major league team. Meanwhile, the Yankees will once again be in dire need of offense after scoring just three runs in their last three road games.

Photo: Joe Camporeale / USA Today Sports; Video: MLBAM

The 22-year-old Severino allowed six earned runs on seven hits in just three innings of work, the second-shortest outing of his young career. The host Rangers scored one run in the fifth and one more in the sixth off relief pitcher Ivan Nova to take an 8-0 lead en route to the 10-1 victory.

Of course, the rough start from Sevvy could have almost been predicted considering the Yankees’ consistently inconsistent starting pitching. After Eovaldi carried a no-hit bid into the seventh on Monday night, it’s fitting that Severino did just the opposite on Tuesday night.

The second-year pitcher has now allowed 32 hits in 19 2/3 innings this season, a concerning sign after he allowed just 53 hits in 62 1/3 innings last season in his rookie campaign.

Offensively, the Yankees didn’t amount to much, collecting just four hits against Rangers starter A.J. Griffin.

THE PLAY: Mitch Moreland’s two-run single to make it 4-0 in the third inning (+.115 WPA)

TOP PERFORMERS

Yankees: Mark Teixeira (2-4, RBI)

Rangers: A.J. Griffin (8 IP, 4 H, ER, BB, 5 K)

NOTES

– The one-run performance marked the 12th time in 14 games the Yankees scored less than four runs.

– With A-Rod and Hicks on the DL, Dustin Ackley went 0-3 off the bench for the Yankees. He’s now 1-for-15 (.067) this season.

– In good news, Tuesday was a night of rest for both Andrew Miller (nine innings pitched this season) and Dellin Betances (10 innings).

THE HIGHLIGHT: Beltran’s diving grab

UP NEXT

The rubber match of this three-game set at Texas concludes on Wednesday night with CC Sabathia (1-1, 5.28) on the bump against the Rangers’ Martin Perez (0-2, 4.50). Sabathia has allowed exactly three earned runs in each of his three starts this season, but hasn’t made it through the fifth inning in his last two starts. The Yankees offense will look to finally break from a cold spell, as they’ve scored just 70 runs in 19 games this season (3.7 runs per game).

Lead photo: Jim Cowsert / USA Today Sports

The Yankees offense scored early and often on Astros starter Collin McHugh, who allowed six runs (five earned) in just one third of an inning. New York scored three runs in the second and three more in the third to take a 12-5 lead after three.

Starlin Castro went 4-for-5 with one run scored and five RBI while Mark Teixeira went 2-for-4 with two runs and four RBI. Both Castro and Teixeira homered for the Yankees, hitting three-run blasts in the second and third innings respectively.

Michael Pineda surrendered eight hits and six earned runs in five innings of work, allowing three home runs in the process. Four of those earned runs came on one swing from George Springer in the second inning; it was the first grand slam Pineda has given up in his career.

The Play: Castro’s three-run home run in the second (+.216 WPA)

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With two outs and runners on first and second, Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro bombed a second-inning home run to give the Yankees a 9-5 lead at the time. The homer scored both Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran.

The three-run home run also gave the Yankees breathing room again after Houston’s George Springer hit a grand slam in the top of the inning to cut New York’s lead to 6-5.

Top Performers: 

Yankees – Starlin Castro (4-for-5, HR, 5 RBI), Mark Teixeira (2-for-4, 2 R, 4 RBI)

Astros – George Springer: (1-for-4, Grand Slam off Pineda with two outs in second), Carlos Correa (4-for-5, 2 R, 2 RBI)

The Quote

“Castro is playing tee ball right now.” – Carlos Beltran, on Starlin Castro’s 5-for-8 start to the season

Notes

– With four RBIs on Wednesday night, newcomer Starlin Castro became the first player in Yankees history with seven RBI in his first two games with the team.

– Castro (4 hits) and Didi Gregorius (3 hits) are the first Yankees’ starting middle infield duo to record at least three hits apiece since Aug. 18, 2013 when the Robinson Cano and Eduardo each had three against Boston.

– Chase Headley picked up a first-inning steal, his first stolen base since Sept. 10, 2014 vs Tampa Bay.

– The 16 runs scored by the Yankees was the most in a single game since August 30, 2015 in a 20-6 win over Atlanta.

Starlin Castro: The fourth Yankee w/at least 7 RBI in his first 2 games since 1913: Tino Martinez ('97), Yogi Berra ('56), Babe Ruth ('32).

— Lohud Yankees Blog (@LoHudYankees) April 7, 2016

The Highlight: The Yankees score six in the first inning

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Next Up

The Yankees host the Astros in the third and final game of this season-opening series on Thursday, April 7 at 4:05 pm ET at Yankee Stadium. Mike Fiers will get the start for Houston while Nathan Eovaldi will make his season debut for New York.

Lead photo: Adam Hunger/USA Today Sports

Rodriguez, 40, has two years remaining on his current contract, which pays him through the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The 14-time All-Star is owed $20 million per season in both 2016 and 2017, with a $1 million signing bonus included for each season.

At age 39 last season, Rodriguez batted .250 for the Yankees while belting 33 home runs and knocking in 86 RBI as well. The three-time MVP also appeared in 151 games for the Yankees, surpassing even the most generous of expectations.

While the news is unexpected, it’s not exactly a surprise. Rodriguez will turn 41 years old in July of this season, and has played over 2,700 career MLB games since his debut on July 8, 1994.

Rodriguez signed a 10-year extension worth $275 million with the Yankees in 2007, and will now play out the final two years of his contract before retiring after the 2017 season.

The former No. 1 overall pick currently has 687 career home runs, and will surely inch closer to Barry Bonds’ 756 career home run record over the course of his final two seasons in pinstripes.

Lead photo: Kim Klement/USA Today Sports