Dewayne Wise Powers Yankees" Offense in Victory Dewayne Wise learned that he was starting his first game since May 22 when he arrived at Yankee Stadium on Monday, viewed the lineup card placed by his locker stall and saw his name in the No. "The team was more happy than I was," Wise said. It was the Yankees" third consecutive victory after they lost three straight last week. Wise's pregame routine required adjustments when afternoon rain canceled batting practice and kept the Yankees off the field. He hit underhand flips in the indoor batting cage, which amounted to modest preparation for a player who seldom gets to the plate. "I'm pretty much in the game every day as a pinch-runner or a defensive replacement, but I haven't been getting many at-bats lately," Wise said. I know my role, and these guys in front of me, they have to play every day. Wise's first at-bat was his chance to reveal his preparedness. He pulled Josh Tomlin's hanging curveball into the right-field bleachers in the second inning for a two-run homer, his first as a Yankee. Wise added a run-scoring triple in the sixth, finishing 2 for 3 with three runs batted in during a game that illustrated the Yankees" power. Robinson Cano hit his sixth home run in eight games in the third, followed immediately by Nick Swisher's 12th home run. "It's just been a great week for us, a great month in general," Swisher said. We really kind of feel like we hit our stride. The club has hit 14 home runs during the past five games, and its 115 home runs this season matches the most through 72 games in club history. Cano's recent stretch comes two weeks before he is set to defend his Home Run Derby crown at the All-Star Game. "I got to be lucky for that," Cano said with a laugh. The Yankees did not even need all the home runs, because Hiroki Kuroda held the Indians to five hits and one run while pitching into the eighth inning. Manager Joe Girardi complimented Kuroda's fastball and slider, and Kuroda worked with catcher Chris Stewart to use his splitter on the final pitch of six of his seven strikeouts. "I think it was a combination of two things," Kuroda said through an interpreter. 1, I had a great split. And also, Stewart called the right pitch at the right time. Swisher often excites the crowd. But Monday night belonged, in part, to Wise, who has accepted what he is in baseball but has quietly yearned for more. Opposing players, opposing managers and even teammates have asked Wise why he was never a regular player during his career. He told them how he had the unfortunate fate of backing up established outfielders and earned a reputation as one who could not consistently hit even though he lacked consistent opportunities. He disliked the role in his 20s, even preferring to play every day in Class AAA than infrequently in the major leagues. Now 34, he savors the majors compared with the bus trips in the minors. "I'm not going to go in there and chew out the manager about playing time," Wise said. I just try to stay ready. Wise started because Girardi used Curtis Granderson as the designated hitter for the first time this season and gave Alex Rodriguez a day off, a trend that Girardi said he would continue during the next two weeks. The Yankees are in a stretch of 17 games in 17 days leading to the All-Star Game, and Girardi is trying to be proactive with an aging roster. As a bench player, Wise never knows if he will bat. Teammates have told him that he has "the toughest job in the game." On Monday, Wise made his job look easy. Catcher Russell Martin missed his second consecutive game with a back problem.