NEW YORK (AP) — Alex Rodriguez gave Will Smith a rude welcome to the major leagues Wednesday night, hitting two homers off the rookie to back another strong start for Andy Pettitte and lead the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals 8-3.
A-Rod snapped a 52 at-bat homerless drought and drove in three runs for New York. Curtis Granderson also connected off Smith and the Yankees scored three times in the fifth with help from some inept relief pitching.
Derek Jeter had three hits to tie Paul Waner for 15th with 3,152. Before the Jeter singled in the eighth, Waner had been the only player who reached a higher hits milestone than Jeter in a Yankees uniform. “Big Poison” got just one hit with New York, his final one in a career spent mostly in Pittsburgh.
New York scored as many as three runs in the first inning for the first time in 31 games since April 19 and finished a 3-3 homestand. The Yankees start a 10-game trip at Oakland on Friday following their first consecutive wins since three in a row from May 10-12.
Pettitte (2-1) followed eight innings of four-hit ball against Cincinnati with seven-plus crafty innings in his third start since coming out of retirement, leaving him with a 2.53 ERA. He gave Smith a lesson in mixing pitches and working out of difficult situations.
In the third inning, Mark Teixeira started a double play with a diving stop. Pettitte got out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth with a strikeout — one of his eight Ks — giving a slight fist pump walking off the mound.
Pettitte gave up seven hits, including homers to Billy Butler and Mitch Maier. The 39-year-old left-hander has not lost to Kansas City since 1999. In 24 starts against the Royals, he is 14-3.
Smith (0-1), a 22-year old called up from Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday — not the actor with a movie coming out this weekend — started off with an out for the scrapbook: He got Jeter to hit a grounder to shortstop. But it was rocky the rest of the first for the lefty who was 2 months shy of 6 when Pettitte made his debut in 1995.
Granderson homered to deep right on a 1-2 pitch. TV showed Smith’s mom in the stands shaking her head: welcome to the big leagues, son. After a walk to Teixeira, A-Rod crushed a ball into the left field stands for a 3-0 lead.
By the time Nick Swisher hit a pop up with two outs, Smith’s mom couldn’t watch: she had covered her face with her hands. It was an out, mom.
When Rodriguez homered in the third to center field, mom sat stunned with her hands behind her head.
Rodriguez said following Tuesday’s game that he was “about to go off” — and he did. Rodriguez had just one RBI since he last homered and drove in three runs on May 6 at Kansas City, 15 games ago. It was Rodriguez’s 60th multihomer game.
Smith was lifted after giving up a one-out single in the fourth. He yielded five runs and six hits in 3 1-3 innings. Luis Mendoza, the pitcher originally slated to start Wednesday night, relieved.
Rodriguez came up in the fifth with the bases loaded and grounded into a fielder’s choice. Jeter, who bunted for a hit, was forced out at home.
The Yankees came in 8 for 41 (.195) with the bases loaded but they didn’t need a hit in that situation in the fifth to score their runs. The Yankees walked three times and were twice hit by pitches in the inning. Robinson Cano had an RBI fielder’s choice — a nice diving stop by shortstop Alcides Escobar — and Andruw Jones and Teixeira, back in the 3-hole after two games batting seventh, walked to force in runs.
New York went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position, leaving the Yankees 9 for 85 (.106) in their last nine games,
Eric Hosmer went 3 for 4 with an RBI for the Royals, raising his batting average to .191.

NOTES — The Royals dropped to 4-3 in the deciding game of series this season. ... Both teams have a day off Thursday. On Friday, Kansas City’s Bruce Chen faces the Orioles’ Jason Hammel in Baltimore. Ivan Nova goes for New York against Tyson Ross for Oakland. ... Smith was 1-3, 4.01 at Omaha this season