New York went 9-14 in April and finished the month 6½ games behind first-place Boston in the AL East. That roused owner George Steinbrenner to issue his first public remarks of the season Monday, at once throwing his support behind Torre and rebuking the team for its record.

Steinbrenner’s vote of confidence in Torre and Cashman silenced, at least temporarily, speculation that their jobs were in jeopardy. But the notoriously demanding owner also termed the start by his $195 million club “clearly not acceptable.”

Against the Rangers, Steinbrenner’s comments seemed to cajole the Yankees to their most lopsided win of the season. The timing of the rout was similar to a 19-8 win over Tampa Bay in 2005, which followed an even more scathing lashing of his team following a 4-8 start that year.

Robinson Cano broke out of a 1-for-18 slump by going 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two doubles. Jorge Posada had three hits, three runs and two RBIs. Alex Rodriguez added three hits to raise his batting average to .371.

The Yankees also took advantage of three Texas errors.

Posada’s two-run double highlighted a four-run third against Kameron Loe (1-2) that made it 6-0. New York added three in the fifth on RBI doubles by Hideki Matsui and Posada, and a run-scoring single by Cano.

Before Tuesday’s game, Torre said he hoped to hear no more questions about his future. He also blamed part of Yankees’ recent trouble scoring runs on players “trying too hard.”

Against the Rangers, it seemed as though the Yankees hardly had to try. New York’s lineup battered Loe for four-plus innings, getting 10 hits and nine runs — seven earned.

Before Tuesday’s win, New York became the first major league team to use five or more pitchers in 10 straight games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Notes: Longtime Yankees broadcaster Bobby Murcer returned to the YES Network booth for the first time since having surgery on a malignant brain tumor in December. “Everything is going along really well for me,” said Murcer, who plans to work 50 games this season. ... Yankees CF Johnny Damon sat out, but expects to be in the lineup Wednesday. He has been bothered by a bad back and visited a chiropractor in Florida on Monday. ... Derek Jeter extended his hitting streak to 18 games and finished 1-for-4 with two walks. Dating to last season, he’s hit safely in 57 of 59 games.

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