NEW YORK (Reuters) - CC Sabathia earned his Major League-leading 19th win and Curtis Granderson belted two home runs to power the New York Yankees to a 5-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Thursday.
The victory stretched the Yanks' lead in the American League East to 1.5 games over the idle Tampa Bay Rays.
Sabathia (19-5) pitched eight innings, allowing one-hit with five strikeouts, and did not allow a runner past second base after the third inning.
Jonathan Albaladejo came on in relief and pitched a perfect ninth to nail down the one-hitter and secure New York's sixth successive victory.
Granderson had three RBIs as a replacement for Nick Swisher, who suffered stiffness in his left knee after the first inning. Jorge Posada cracked a solo homer in the second, and also scored on Austin Kearns's RBI single in the eighth.
Oakland left-hander Dallas Braden (9-10) allowed just one run on two hits but was forced from the game in the sixth inning due to cramping from the heat.
(Reporting by Mike Mouat in Windsor, Ontario. Editing by Steve Ginsburg)
