As intimidating as Randy Johnson can be, he knew he couldn’t challenge an aggressive Texas lineup with only fastballs. So he used a nasty slider and a diving splitter to work all parts of the strike zone.

The plan worked to near perfection for eight dominant innings yesterday, and Johnson won for the first time since the season opener as the Yankees beat the Rangers 11-1 to avoid a three game sweep.

“I wasn’t overpowering, but who cares?” Johnson said. “I’d rather pitch a game like today: Pitch efficient, quick innings, keep the defense sharp, and get the offense back out there.”

Derek Jeter finished a triple shy of the cycle and drove in three runs, and Andy Phillips hit a three-run homer in the eighth and had four RBI. A Yankees offense that mustered just 12 hits and five runs in two losses to Texas amassed 14 hits yesterday and used two big innings against Pedro Astacio to help Johnson earn his first win since beating Boston on April 3.

After giving up 16 runs – 14 earned – in his last three starts, Johnson pitched like the ace the Yankees expected when they traded for him in the off-season, stopping the team’s two game skid and giving a taxed bullpen some much-needed rest.

“He looked like he pretty much had command of everything – splitter, slider,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “He was locating everything.”

The Big Unit breezed into the sixth, allowing just a bloop single in the second to Kevin Mench that dropped between three fielders in shallow center. After getting two quick outs in the inning, though, Johnson was temporarily untracked by a timeout called by plate umpire Laz Diaz in the middle of his motion. On the pitch after the stoppage, Alfonso Soriano ended a string of 13 straight Texas outs with a single to left. Gary Matthews Jr. followed with a triple and Michael Young walked.

Johnson (2-1) quickly found his rhythm again, striking out two in the seventh and retiring his last seven batters. He finished with seven strikeouts to increase his career total to 4,201. Johnson hasn’t struck out 10 batters in any of his five starts this season.

“When you saw the outs he got on quick counts early, you just knew it had the potential to be a challenging day,” Texas manager Buck Showalter said. “He threw a lot of splitters today. I think at this stage of his career he’s not a pure velocity guy.”

Phillips, making his first of the season, had an RBI double in a four-run second. New York scored three times in the fifth, batting around for the sixth time this season and chasing Astacio.

Jeter homered off Matt Riley in the sixth, his second of the season and the Yankees’ first in four games. Phillips connected for his first of the year and first at Yankee Stadium in the eighth, also off Riley, and earned a curtain call.