NEW YORK -- Yankees starter Luis Cessa looked dominant at times on Saturday afternoon, but a few mistakes did him in during the team's 8-1 loss to the Rangers at Yankee Stadium.
The big blow came in the fourth inning, when he left a slider over the middle of the plate and Carlos Gomez ripped it into the left-field seats.
"I thought he threw the ball pretty well for five innings," manager Joe Girardi said. "He threw a spinner to Gomez and he hit it out, a slider that really didn't do much. But he was pretty good."

Up to that point, the Rangers had scored only one run off Cessa. But the two-run homer proved too much for the Yankees' struggling offense.
The bright spots for Cessa, though, could be a good sign for the Yankees moving forward, as he is their fifth starter until Carsten Sabathia returns from the 10-day disabled list.
Other than a first-inning run, Cessa kept the Rangers in check early on. He set a new career-high with eight strikeouts -- six of which came in the first two innings. Opposing hitters swung and missed on 10 of his first 40 pitches.
"I think it was a good day for me," Cessa said. "My breaking ball feels good and my fastball command feels good, too."
With no further update on Sabathia's injury status, Girardi said Cessa will make his next start as scheduled, which is set to come on Thursday against the White Sox.