WHAT IT MEANS: The New York Yankees own the Texas Rangers at home.

The Yankees beat the Rangers for the eighth straight time at Yankee Stadium, 3-2, on Wednesday night and have a chance to sweep the four-game series between the two American League heavyweights on Thursday afternoon.

BIG CHIEF: Freddy Garcia was tremendous. In 6 2/3 innings, he allowed just two solo moon shots to Josh Hamilton (389 feet, 447 feet) -- four hits total -- and struck out six. Since returning to the rotation on July 2, the 35-year-old right-hander is 5-3 with a 3.69 ERA in nine starts. He has allowed three earned runs or less in eight of those nine starts. Boone Logan, David Robertson and Rafael Soriano (who struck out Hamilton with a nasty slider) combined to record the final seven outs without allowing a hit.

CHAVY: Eric Chavez continues to rake in Alex Rodriguez’s absence. On Wednesday night, he went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, and now has 14 hits in his past 23 at-bats. His batting average is .303.

SWISHALICIOUS: With his third-inning RBI double, Nick Swisher has driven in nine runs in his past four games.

AND SO IT CONTINUES: Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a second-inning single. Jeter now has an American League-high 157 hits.

THE GRANDYMAN CAN’T: Curtis Granderson went 0-for-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly and is now 1 for his past 21.

DELAYED: The game didn’t start until 8:50 p.m. because of a 105-minute rain delay.

NO CANO: Robinson Cano didn’t play because of a stiff neck.

UP NEXT: Ivan Nova (11-6, 4.70 ERA) looks to right the ship against Rangers southpaw Derek Holland (7-6, 4.92).