"Curtis Granderson hit two home runs to push his Major League Baseball-leading total to 38 as the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 8-3 yesterday to split a double-header.

Granderson went 3-for-5, with a three-run homer in the third inning and a solo shot in the seventh at Camden Yards in Baltimore. He moved one home run ahead of Toronto's Jose Bautista for the major-league lead and his 107 runs batted in are also the most in baseball.

Ivan Nova won his seventh straight start, becoming the first rookie pitcher to do so for the Yankees since Vic Raschi in 1946-47. Nova has won 10 consecutive decisions and has a 14-4 overall record this season.

The Yankees hit five home runs in the second game to snap the Orioles' six-game winning streak after losing the opener 2-0. Zach Britton allowed four hits over seven innings in Baltimore's win yesterday, rebounding from a July 30 performance against the Yankees in which he allowed nine runs and got only one out in a 17-3 loss.

Shortstop Derek Jeter yesterday played in his 2,402nd game for the Yankees, surpassing Mickey Mantle for the most in franchise history. Jeter didn't play in the second game after fouling a ball off his right knee in the opener. "