NEW YORK -- In the foggy afterglow of the Yankees' postgame celebration, Gerrit Cole felt like he could exhale.
"Breathing is a good thing," he said with a smile. "Everybody can breathe today, right?"
Cole bounced back from the shortest start of his career, Anthony Rizzo powered a long-awaited outburst from New York's lineup and the Yankees pounded the Cleveland Guardians 10-2 Sunday to complete a three-game sweep in a series marred by fan misbehavior.
Cole (1-0) struck out nine over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, and Rizzo's two-run drive in the first inning tied him for the AL lead with five home runs. New York won for the fifth time in six games, belting out 13 hits and improving to 10-6 despite early concerns about their ineffective ace and a surprisingly punchless lineup.
The Yankees cranked up a fog machine, blasted loud music and celebrated their first sweep of the season in the clubhouse before taking a day off today.
"Just put a cherry on top, played a complete three games," Cole said.
Cleveland outfielders struggled a day after fans threw bottles, cans and other debris at them immediately following New York's walk-off victory. Myles Straw and Oscar Mercado were heckled after misplays, and breakout rookie Steven Kwan left early with right hamstring tightness.
The Yankees said they increased security in the stands Sunday, and fans appeared to refrain from more beverage tossing.
The Bronx's famed Bleacher Creatures lobbed plenty of insults, though, especially at Straw in center and Mercado in right.
Straw, who called Yankee Universe the "worst fan base on the planet" after Saturday's incident, was greeted by chants of "Crybaby!" and sarcastically called "Peter Parker" for his Spiderman-like climb up the wall to confront at least one fan face to face.
Straw got the loudest boos during lineup introductions, and fans pointed and jeered when he and second baseman Andres Gimenez miscommunicated on Hicks' bases-loaded popup during New York's three-run third inning.
Mercado badly misjudged DJ LeMahieu's line drive in the second, letting it go over his head for an RBI double that also delighted fans.
LeMahieu had three hits and three RBI, including a two-run home run in the sixth, and pinch-hitter Tim Locastro pulled a two-run drive in the eighth as New York's slumping offense had its biggest day of the year. It took the Yankees 16 games this season to score at least seven runs in a game, a first for the franchise since 1990.
"We played like ourselves today," LeMahieu said. "That's kind of what we expect. It's not always going to happen like that, but we were due for a breakout game."
Cole covered just 1 2/3 innings in his previous start against Detroit, tying his career high with five walks. He came into the day with a 6.35 ERA through three starts.
Working with backup catcher Jose Trevino for the first time, Cole limited the Guardians to a walk and four hits. He left to a standing ovation after 92 pitches.
"I haven't been kidding when I said I think it's about to pop," Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said.
Cleveland starter Aaron Civale (0-1) allowed six earned runs in three innings, pushing his ERA to 9.58 over three starts.
"On a day when he needed a little help, we didn't help out," Manager Terry Francona said.
TWINS 6, WHITE SOX 4, (10) Byron Buxton hit his second home run of the game, a 469-foot, three-run drive in the 10th inning, and Minnesota sent Chicago to its seventh consecutive loss.
ANGELS 7, ORIOLES 6 Jo Adell hit a grand slam, Shohei Ohtani scored the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded walk, and Los Angeles beat Baltimore despite blowing a six-run, first-inning lead.
MARINERS 5, ROYALS 4 (12) Jesse Winker capped an 11-pitch at-bat with a broken-bat single to score Adam Frazier in the 12th inning, and Seattle completed a three-game sweep of Kansas City.
ATHLETICS 2, RANGERS 0 Cole Irvin (2-1) and three relievers combined on a four-hitter, Stephen Piscotty homered in his second game back from the covid-19 injured list, and Oakland beat Texas to avoid a sweep.
ASTROS 8, BLUE JAYS 7 (10) Rookie Jeremy Pena hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning and Houston beat Toronto to avoid a sweep.
RAYS 5, RED SOX 2 Shane McClanahan (1-1) beat Boston to become Tampa Bay's first starting pitcher to get a win this season.
NATIONAL LEAGUE
REDS 4, CARDINALS 1 First-round draft pick Nick Lodolo (1-2) got his first major league win as Cincinnati beat St. Louis to end an 11-game skid, its worst in six years.
BREWERS 1, PHILLIES 0 Christian Yelich hit a sacrifice fly to score Jace Peterson in the top of the ninth inning to lift Milwaukee over Philadelphia.
DODGERS 10, PADRES 2 Cody Bellinger homered twice and drove in four runs, leading Clayton Kershaw (3-0) and Los Angeles past San Diego.
GIANTS 12, NATIONALS 3 Joc Pederson homered twice, doubled and drove in three runs as San Francisco completed a three-game sweep of Washington.
METS 6, DIAMONDBACKS 2 Tylor Megill (3-0) threw 6 2/3 impressive innings, Francisco Lindor added a pair of hits and New York took two of three from Arizona.
MARLINS 5, BRAVES 4 Garrett Cooper had three hits and two RBI, Avisail Garcia hit a go-ahead double in the fifth inning and Miami took two of three from Atlanta.
PIRATES 4, CUBS 3 Dillon Peters (3-0) keyed a solid performance by Pittsburgh's bullpen and Kevin Newman had two hits against Chicago.
INTERLEAGUE
ROCKIES 6, TIGERS 2 Randal Grichuk had three hits, including his first home run of the season, and Colorado beat Detroit.