Rangers 3, Yankees 1: Matt Garza made a stellar debut with Texas, allowing an unearned run in 7 1/3 innings to lift the host Rangers.

Garza (1-0), acquired in a trade with the Chicago Cubs on Monday, won his sixth consecutive start by limiting the Yankees to five singles while striking out five. Neal Cotts retired all four batters he faced before closer Joe Nathan got the final out for his 32nd save in 34 chances.

A.J. Pierzynski belted a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning and drove in a pair and David Murphy also went deep as Texas won for only the third time in 11 contests to remain three games behind first-place Oakland in the American League West.

Yankees starter Andy Pettitte (7-8) lost his second straight start, giving up two runs on eight hits in six-plus innings. Robinson Cano plated New York's only run in the sixth inning with a single for his 70th RBI.

Pierzynski put the Rangers on top with a two-out run-scoring single in the first and belted his 10th homer with two outs in the sixth after the Yankees had tied the game in the top of the inning.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pettitte fanned Geovany Soto in the second inning to give him 2,397 career strikeouts, moving him past Sandy Koufax and into 40th place on baseball's all-time list. ... Pierzynski was 2-for-3 against Pettitte to boost his career batting average to .393 (11-for-28) against the veteran left-hander. ... Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez - already linked to the Biogenesis clinic scandal - made headlines again Wednesday when he sought a second opinion on his ailing left quadriceps without receiving permission from the team - a violation of baseball's Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Yankees said in a statement that Dr. Michael Gross never received a copy of Rodriguez's MRI exam.