Yankees 4, Pirates 3 (Game 1): Mark Teixeira had a two-run single in a three-run first inning and host New York held on to win the opening game of a doubleheader.

Brett Gardner and Brian McCann each added RBI base hits as the Yankees extended their winning streak to four and moved to 8-0 all-time at home versus Pittsburgh. Hiroki Kuroda (3-3) halted a five-start winless drought, striking out seven and allowing three runs over six innings to improve to 6-1 lifetime against the Pirates.

Neil Walker and Tony Sanchez swatted solo homers for Pittsburgh, which lost for the fifth time in six games and fell to 5-14 on the road. Charlie Morton (0-6) could not overcome his early troubles and was charged with four runs on six hits in seven innings to remain winless in 14 starts dating to last season.

The Yankees countered Walker's first-inning homer with three runs in their first at-bat, loading the bases without the ball leaving the infield before Teixeira delivered a two-run single and McCann followed with an RBI single. Gardner doubled home a run in the second to make it 4-1 before Pittsburgh cut the deficit with a pair in the fifth.

Sanchez led off the frame by lining a shot into the seats in left field and Clint Barmes followed with a double, eventually coming around on Walker's liner off the glove of third baseman Kelly Johnson. Relievers Matt Daley, Matt Thornton and Adam Warren bridged the gap to closer David Robertson, who got the final four outs for his eighth save.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Teixeira's two-run single in the first extended his hitting streak to eight games and gave him 11 RBIs in his last 10 games. ... Walker has hit safely in eight of nine games and is within seven homers of his career-high 16 set last season. ... Yankees DH Carlos Beltran, on the 15-day disabled list with a bone spur in his right elbow, will play a visit to Dr. James Andrews on Tuesday to get a second opinion on the injury. ... Following Sunday's second game, the Yankees head to Chicago for a week to face the Cubs on Tuesday and Wednesday before opening a four-game series with the White Sox. Pittsburgh returns home to open a two-game set against Baltimore on Tuesday.