NEW YORK (Interstat) — The New York Yankees used a six-run sixth inning to break open a close game and defeat the Texas Rangers 9-2 on Thursday afternoon at Yankee Stadium II, taking two of three in the series and improving to a major league-best 26-12.

The Yankees, who entered the day with the best record in the American League, scored one run in the first inning on a Cody Bellinger triple that brought home Paul Goldschmidt. Texas tied the game in the third on a solo home run by Ezequiel Duran, his second of the season, and took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Duran grounded into a forceout that scored Alejandro Osuna. But New York erupted for six runs in the bottom of the sixth, sending 11 batters to the plate and chasing Texas starter MacKenzie Gore.

The decisive inning began with a walk to Bellinger and a single by Amed Rosario. After Jazz Chisholm Jr. popped out, Ryan McMahon walked to load the bases. Trent Grisham then cleared the bases with a double to left field, scoring Bellinger, Rosario and McMahon to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead. After Max Schuemann struck out, J.C. Escarra singled to score Grisham. Paul Goldschmidt walked, and Aaron Judge singled to bring home Escarra. Bellinger capped the rally with a single that scored Goldschmidt, making it 7-2. The Yankees added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to complete the scoring.

Grisham was the offensive star for New York, going 3 for 5 with three RBIs. He doubled in the sixth, singled in the fourth and seventh, and also flew out to center in the eighth. The performance broke a brief slump for Grisham, who had gone 0 for 4 in each of the previous two games against the Rangers but had a two-hit game May 4 against Baltimore.

Bellinger finished 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. He tripled in the first inning to drive in Goldschmidt, walked and scored in the sixth, and singled in the sixth and eighth. He also walked once.

Goldschmidt tripled and scored in the first, walked twice and struck out once. Judge went 1 for 4 with an RBI single, and Escarra had two hits and an RBI. McMahon doubled in the second and walked twice. Schuemann contributed a double in the seventh that scored Grisham.

For Texas, Duran provided the only extra-base hit, a solo homer to left in the third. He also drove in a run on a forceout in the fifth and walked twice, finishing 1 for 3. Brandon Nimmo had two hits in five at-bats, including a single in the fifth and a single in the ninth. Danny Jansen singled in the ninth. The Rangers managed only six hits and struck out seven times.

Gore took the loss, falling to 2-3 on the season. He allowed seven runs on six hits and four walks over five-plus innings, striking out five. He exited after allowing three consecutive hits to open the sixth.

The Yankees used six pitchers. Brent Headrick earned the win, improving to 3-0, pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout and no hits allowed. Brendan Beck started and went three innings, allowing two runs on two hits with one strikeout. Tim Hill followed with 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out one. Jake Bird threw a scoreless inning, Paul Blackburn threw a scoreless inning, and Camilo Doval threw a scoreless inning with two hits allowed and one strikeout. Gavin Collyer pitched one-third of an inning for Texas, retiring the only batter he faced.

The game was played in front of an announced crowd of 42,729 and lasted 3 hours, 11 minutes. The Rangers dropped to 17-20 on the season. The Yankees have won four of their last five games and 10 of their last 13.

Texas had won the series opener 6-1 on Wednesday but lost the previous two games of the four-game set, including a 7-4 defeat Tuesday. The Rangers have now lost four of their last six games overall. New York has won seven of its last eight home games against Texas.

The Yankees continue their homestand Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Rangers return home to face the Chicago Cubs on Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of New York 7, Texas 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Yankees a 64 percent probability to win. New York was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of 11 went under the over-under line of 8.