Girardi, Acta square off in Yankees-Tribe dustup

Alex Rodriguez hit a colossal home run, Curtis Granderson also connected and the New York Yankees got back on track with an 11-7 victory over the visiting Cleveland Indians last night in a game that quickly grew testy.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Cleveland counterpart Manny Acta got into a face-to-face screaming match when both benches and bullpens emptied after Mark Teixeira was hit by a second-inning fastball from struggling Indians starter Fausto Carmona.

No punches were thrown and there appeared to be little pushing and shoving - if any. Plate umpire Dale Scott issued warnings to both teams, and there was no further trouble.

Ivan Nova (5-4) pitched seven sharp innings for New York, and Derek Jeter had one hit to move within nine of 3,000. Jorge Posada, breaking out of a seasonlong slump, added three hits and an RBI on a night when his figurine was handed out to fans.

Robinson Cano had three hits and an RBI, and Teixeira stroked a three-run double that made it 10-2 in the seventh. Rodriguez followed with an RBI double.

In the fourth, the three-time MVP hit his 625th career homer into the second row of bleacher seats in left-center, where an excited fan caught it on the fly. The ball sailed some 450 feet, beyond a loading-bay ramp that sits between Monument Park and the visitors' bullpen.

One pitch after Granderson hit his team-high 19th homer into the second deck in right to give New York a 4-0 lead, Carmona threw a pitch that was headed straight for Teixeira's upper back.

Batting lefthanded, Teixeira ducked down and was hit squarely behind the right shoulder as he crumbled to the dirt. The slugger slammed down his helmet and gestured toward Carmona as he got up, appearing to yell "Throw the ball over the plate!"

Indians outfielder Travis Buck was scratched from the starting lineup after he and wife were involved in a minor traffic accident in the morning while riding in a cab.

In other games:

* At Detroit, Carlos Peguero homered and tripled starting in place of Ichiro Suzuki in rightfield, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Tigers, 3-2.

* At Minneapolis, Michael Young had three hits and three RBI, Adrian Beltre added two hits and drove in two, and the Texas Rangers beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-3.

* At Chicago, Scott Sizemore's three-run double helped the Oakland Athletics rally for four runs in the ninth inning in a 7-5 win over the White Sox.

* At Toronto, Adrian Gonzalez drove in two runs and Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits each as the Boston Red Sox defeated the Blue Jays, 5-1.

* At Baltimore, Nick Markakis had six RBI with a grand slam and a two-run double, and Jake Arrieta (8-3) allowed two hits in seven innings as the Orioles blanked the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-0.

* Boston righthander Daisuke Matsuzaka had reconstructive elbow surgery and faces a recovery timeof 12 to 14 months. *