NEW YORK _ The Yankees are doing exactly what they should with a schedule that turned egg-yolk soft last week.
Behind six scoreless innings from CC Sabathia and home runs by Giancarlo Stanton and Didi Gregorius, the Yankees made it six victories in seven tries Sunday afternoon with a victory over the overmatched Rangers, 7-2, in front of 41,304 at the Stadium.
Sabathia turned in his second straight strong outing, allowing one hit and three walks. The 38-year-old struck out seven in improving to 7-4 with a 3.32 ERA.
The Yankees (74-43) had 12 hits, two apiece from Aaron Hicks, Stanton, Gregorius, Austin Romine and Brett Gardner. Stanton hit his 30th homer of the season; Gregorius his 21st.
Indeed, it's been mostly positive for the Yankees since last Sunday night when they left Boston licking their wounds after being swept by the Red Sox. But there's this cold reality: even in winning six of seven last week, the Yankees gained exactly zero ground in the division race as they were the same 9 { games back this Monday morning that they were last Monday morning.
The string of tomato cans on the schedule continues Monday night against the Mets _ though, obviously, an asterisk applies to the Mets anytime Jacob deGrom starts, which he does Monday _ in a makeup game, then three against the Rays and three against the Blue Jays.
Stanton, who has been battling a hamstring issue for the better part of a week continued swinging a torrid bat. At designated hitter a fifth straight game, Stanton crushed a solo shot in the first off Texas left-hander Martin Perez to give Sabathia an early lead.
Stanton, who came in hitting .330 with 14 homers and 39 RBIs with a .985 OPS in his previous 50 games, went 2-for-4.
Gregorius' two-run shot off Perez, who allowed seven runs and 11 hits in five innings, in the fifth capped a five-run inning that made it 6-0.
Sabathia (7-4) stranded two in the second. Adrian Beltre led off with a grounder to third that Miguel Andujar threw wide of first for the rookie's 11th error (he booted a grounder in the sixth for No. 12). Jurickson Profar grounded into a 4-6 fielder's choice and he went to second on Robinson Chirinos' grounder behind the bag at third (Andujar made a strong throw across). Joey Gallo then squibbed one off the end of his bat in front of the mound and Sabathia was unable to make a solid throw, the play scored an infield single.
But Sabathia got out of it as Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded to third.
The left-hander walked Shin-Soo Choo and Rougned Odor with one out in the third but got Elvis Andrus to fly to center and Beltre to ground to second to end the threat.
The Yankees finally tacked on in the fifth. Romine reached on an infield single with one out _ the catcher's second infield single in as many at-bats _ and Gardner, hitting ninth, followed with a double into the corner in right. Hicks then lined a 1-and-1 changeup to center, the two-run single making it 3-0. Stanton punched a single to right, putting runners at the corners for Andujar, whose ground out to second brought in Hicks for a 4-0 lead.
Sonny Gray was not nearly as good in his second outing from the bullpen as he was in his first. Gray, who threw three scoreless innings Tuesday in Chicago, was booed off the mound in the eighth Sunday after allowing two runs and five hits in one-plus inning.
