Rangers’ Cliff Lee gives a striking performance to beat Yankees

Perhaps the urgency for the New York Yankees in what had essentially become a best-of-five American League Championships Series is that Cliff Lee could pitch in the last one.

That essentially makes the next two games in Yankee Stadium must wins, because Lee looks unbeatable — nearly unhittable — against them. And, for that matter, against nearly everyone else.

With Lee giving up two hits and striking out 13, the Rangers subdued the defending World Series champions, 8-0, Monday and grabbed a 2-1 lead going into Game 4 on Tuesday night.

“I don’t think we’re in trouble,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “We’re down 2-1, not 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth. You play a good game tomorrow and the mood can change. We’ve lost two games in a row before and bounced back.”

At least the pitcher on Tuesday won’t be Lee, who also beat the Yankees twice in the regular season. This one was even better than those.

“I would say so, yes,” Lee said. “It’s the postseason. The regular season is big, but any time you get that deep in the postseason and not give up any runs, it’s important.”

Said Manager Ron Washington: “I’ll tell you, what we saw tonight is what we’ve been seeing. The guy can pitch.”

Lee, who has won each of his last six starts in the Bronx, “is as good as anyone in baseball right now,” said Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

And he has the statistics to back it up, including a 3-0 record with a 0.75 earned-run average while becoming the greatest strikeout pitcher in one postseason.

Lee became the first pitcher to record three 10-strikeout games in one postseason and only the second to have three postseason games with that many. Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cardinals did it, but it took him the 1967 and 1968 World Series.

And while the final score was lopsided, Lee pitched with a two-run lead for his eight innings before the Rangers tacked on six runs in the ninth and Neftali Feliz finished the game.

He struck out two Yankees in each inning from the second through fifth, and gave up singles in the fifth and sixth innings.

The left-hander didn’t allow a baserunner until Mark Teixeira walked with two outs in the fourth inning and didn’t give up the first hit until Jorge Posada lofted a single to right field with two outs in the fifth.

The Rangers got all the runs they needed against left-hander Andy Pettitte in the first inning when Michael Young singled and trotted home on Josh Hamilton’s second home run of the series.

“Regardless of what happens before, every game is a new game,” Lee said. “For me, the key is to put [games] in the past and move forward. Just because I had a good game the last time and the time before that doesn’t mean it will happen the next game.”

dvandyck@tribune.com