GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: TAMPA BAY (38-59) at NY YANKEES (50-46)

AL: TAMPA BAY at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAMPA BAY (4) AT NY YANKEES (21) - EVENT LOG
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Tampa Bay Starting Lineups -- A Iwamura 3B, B Harris SS, B Upton CF, C Pena 1B,
D Young RF, T Wigginton DH, J Gomes LF, D Navarro C, J Wilson 2B, J Shields RHP.

Ny Yankees Starting Lineups -- M Cabrera CF, D Jeter SS, B Abreu RF,
A Rodriguez 3B, H Matsui LF, J Posada C, R Cano 2B, A Phillips 1B, S Duncan DH,
A Pettitte LHP.

Umpires -- Wally Bell (HP), Tim Welke (1B), John Hirschbeck (2B), Laz Diaz (3B).

Gametime Weather: 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy, wind right to left at 12 mph.


TAMPA BAY 1ST: A Iwamura struck out swinging. B Harris grounded out to
second. B Upton struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0,
NY YANKEES 0.

NY YANKEES 1ST: M Cabrera walked. D Jeter lined out to center. B Abreu
popped out to shortstop. A Rodriguez grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, M Cabrera out at second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 0,
NY YANKEES 0.

TAMPA BAY 2ND: C Pena homered to right. D Young singled to center.
T Wigginton struck out swinging. J Gomes struck out swinging. D Navarro
grounded out to pitcher. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 1, NY YANKEES 0.

NY YANKEES 2ND: H Matsui homered to right. J Posada singled to center.
R Cano grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, J Posada out at
second. A Phillips grounded out to third. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 1,
NY YANKEES 1.

TAMPA BAY 3RD: J Wilson grounded out to second. A Iwamura struck out
swinging. B Harris singled to center. B Upton grounded out to third.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 1, NY YANKEES 1.

NY YANKEES 3RD: S Duncan struck out swinging. M Cabrera doubled to right
center. M Cabrera stole third. D Jeter walked. B Abreu singled to center,
M Cabrera scored, D Jeter to second. A Rodriguez singled to center, D Jeter
scored, B Abreu to third, A Rodriguez to second on error by second baseman
J Wilson. H Matsui grounded into fielder's choice to third, B Abreu out at home,
A Rodriguez to third. J Posada flied out to right. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error)
TAMPA BAY 1, NY YANKEES 3.

TAMPA BAY 4TH: C Pena singled to right. D Young singled to left center,
C Pena to second. T Wigginton grounded into fielder's choice to first, D Young
out at second, C Pena to third. J Gomes struck out looking. D Navarro walked,
T Wigginton to second. J Wilson singled to center, C Pena and T Wigginton
scored, D Navarro to second. A Iwamura grounded out to first. (2 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 3, NY YANKEES 3.

NY YANKEES 4TH: R Cano tripled to right. A Phillips singled to left,
R Cano scored. S Duncan walked, A Phillips to second. M Cabrera grounded
into fielder's choice to third, S Duncan out at second, A Phillips to third.
D Jeter singled to right, A Phillips scored, M Cabrera to third. B Abreu
singled to right, M Cabrera scored, D Jeter to second. D Jeter stole third,
B Abreu stole second. D Jeter scored, B Abreu safe at third on throwing error
by catcher D Navarro. A Rodriguez walked. H Matsui singled to center, B Abreu
scored, A Rodriguez to third. C Fossum relieved J Shields. J Posada singled to
left center, A Rodriguez scored, H Matsui to second. R Cano singled to center,
H Matsui scored, J Posada to second. J Posada to third, R Cano to second on
wild pitch by C Fossum. A Phillips struck out swinging. S Duncan homered to
left, J Posada and R Cano scored. M Cabrera walked. D Jeter grounded out to
second. (10 Runs, 8 Hits, 1 Error) TAMPA BAY 3, NY YANKEES 13.

TAMPA BAY 5TH: B Harris singled to center. B Upton walked, B Harris to
second. C Pena flied out to center, B Harris to third. D Young lined out
to second. T Wigginton lined out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
TAMPA BAY 3, NY YANKEES 13.

NY YANKEES 5TH: S Camp relieved C Fossum. B Abreu homered to right.
A Rodriguez grounded out to shortstop. H Matsui singled to center. J Posada
grounded into fielder's choice to first, H Matsui out at second. R Cano
reached on infield single to first, J Posada to second. A Phillips grounded
out to third. (1 Run, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 3, NY YANKEES 14.

TAMPA BAY 6TH: M Cairo at shortstop. J Gomes struck out swinging.
D Navarro grounded out to second. J Wilson singled to deep left. A Iwamura
walked, J Wilson to second. B Harris struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 3, NY YANKEES 14.

NY YANKEES 6TH: S Duncan homered to right center. M Cabrera struck out
looking. M Cairo doubled to deep left. J Damon hit for B Abreu. J Damon hit
a ground rule double to deep left, M Cairo scored. A Rodriguez homered to left
center, J Damon scored. H Matsui singled to right. J Posada hit a ground rule
double to deep left, H Matsui to third. G Glover relieved S Camp. R Cano
struck out swinging. A Phillips flied out to right. (4 Runs, 6 Hits, 0 Errors)
TAMPA BAY 3, NY YANKEES 18.

TAMPA BAY 7TH: J Damon in right field. S Henn relieved A Pettitte. A Phillips
at third base. S Duncan at first base. B Upton singled to left. C Pena grounded
into fielder's choice to second, B Upton out at second. D Young flied out to
center. T Wigginton walked, C Pena to second. J Gomes struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 3, NY YANKEES 18.

NY YANKEES 7TH: S Duncan grounded out to first. M Cabrera hit by pitch.
M Cairo struck out swinging. J Damon struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 3, NY YANKEES 18.

TAMPA BAY 8TH: D Navarro popped out to shortstop. J Wilson struck out
swinging. A Iwamura singled to shallow center. A Iwamura to second on wild
pitch by S Henn. B Harris struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
TAMPA BAY 3, NY YANKEES 18.

NY YANKEES 8TH: S Dohmann relieved G Glover. S Henn struck out looking.
H Matsui singled to right. J Posada lined out to second. R Cano homered to
right, H Matsui scored. A Phillips walked. A Phillips to second on passed
ball by D Navarro. S Duncan walked. M Cabrera singled to center, A Phillips
scored, S Duncan to second. M Cairo struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits,
0 Errors) TAMPA BAY 3, NY YANKEES 21.

TAMPA BAY 9TH: M Myers relieved S Henn. B Upton grounded out to shortstop.
C Pena flied out to right. D Young doubled to deep right. T Wigginton safe
at first on error by second baseman R Cano, D Young to third. J Gomes singled
to center, D Young scored, T Wigginton to second. D Navarro grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, J Gomes out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 1 Error)
TAMPA BAY 4, NY YANKEES 21.</div>

 

AL: TAMPA BAY at NY YANKEES

<div class="pre">TAMPA BAY (4) VS NY YANKEES (21) - FINAL

TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 4 0 1 0 1 2 2 .280
B Harris ss 5 0 2 0 0 2 3 .303
B Upton cf 4 0 1 0 1 1 1 .339
C Pena 1b 5 2 2 1 0 0 2 .289
D Young rf 5 1 3 0 0 0 3 .295
T Wigginton dh 4 1 0 0 1 1 5 .277
J Gomes lf 5 0 1 1 0 4 5 .277
D Navarro c 4 0 0 0 1 0 3 .182
J Wilson 2b 4 0 2 2 0 1 0 .314

Totals 40 4 12 4 4 11 24

BATTING: 2B - D Young (24, M Myers). HR - C Pena (23, 2nd inning off A Pettitte
0 on, 0 Out). RBI - C Pena (64), J Wilson 2 (15), J Gomes (24). 2-out RBI - J
Wilson 2, J Gomes. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Wigginton 1, J
Gomes 1, B Harris 2, D Navarro 1, A Iwamura 1. Team LOB - 13.

FIELDING: E - J Wilson (8, catch); D Navarro (5, throw). PB - D Navarro. DP:
1 (B Harris-J Wilson-C Pena).


NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
M Cabrera cf 4 2 2 1 2 1 1 .283
D Jeter ss 3 2 1 1 1 0 2 .332
M Cairo ss 3 1 1 0 0 2 3 .257
B Abreu rf 4 2 3 3 0 0 1 .273
a-J Damon ph-rf 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 .238
A Rodriguez 3b 4 2 2 3 1 0 1 .313
S Henn p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
M Myers p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
H Matsui lf 6 3 5 2 0 0 1 .291
J Posada c 6 1 3 1 0 0 4 .333
R Cano 2b 6 3 4 3 0 1 3 .291
A Phillips 1b-3b 5 2 1 1 1 1 6 .306
S Duncan dh-1b 4 2 2 4 2 1 0 .333

Totals 48 21 25 20 7 8 23

a-hit a ground rule double to deep left for B Abreu in the 6th.

BATTING: 2B - M Cabrera (11, J Shields); M Cairo (7, S Camp); J Damon (13, S
Camp); J Posada (28, S Camp). 3B - R Cano (5, J Shields). HR - H Matsui (17,
2nd inning off J Shields 0 on, 0 Out), S Duncan 2 (3, 4th inning off C Fossum 2
on, 2 Out, 6th inning off S Camp 0 on, 0 Out), B Abreu (8, 5th inning off S
Camp 0 on, 0 Out), A Rodriguez (34, 6th inning off S Camp 1 on, 1 Out), R Cano
(8, 8th inning off S Dohmann 1 on, 2 Out). RBI - H Matsui 2 (63), B Abreu 3
(57), A Rodriguez 3 (99), A Phillips (15), D Jeter (49), J Posada (52), R Cano
3 (50), S Duncan 4 (7), J Damon (33), M Cabrera (32). 2-out RBI - S Duncan 3, R
Cano 2, M Cabrera. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - A Phillips 3, J
Posada 1, M Cairo 1. GIDP - R Cano. Team LOB - 11.

BASERUNNING: SB - M Cabrera (8, 3rd base off J Shields/D Navarro), D Jeter
(11, 3rd base off J Shields/D Navarro), B Abreu (14, 2nd base off J Shields/D
Navarro).

FIELDING: E - R Cano (7, ground ball).


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TAMPA BAY - 010 2 00 001 -- 4
NY YANKEES - 012 (10)14 03x -- 21
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TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
J Shields (L, 8-6) 3 1/3 10 10 10 4 1 1 4.44
C Fossum 2/3 3 3 3 1 1 1 7.77
S Camp 1 1/3 9 5 5 0 1 3 6.64
G Glover 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 4.89
S Dohmann 1 3 3 3 2 2 1 12.00

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
A Pettitte (W, 6-6) 6 8 3 3 3 8 1 4.12
S Henn 2 2 0 0 1 3 0 4.22
M Myers 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 2.50

WP - C Fossum, S Henn. HBP - M Cabrera (by G Glover). Pitches-strikes: J
Shields 71-45; C Fossum 25-13; S Camp 43-29; G Glover 34-20; S Dohmann 43-26; A
Pettitte 96-64; S Henn 38-24; M Myers 20-14. Ground balls-fly balls: J Shields
6-3; C Fossum 1-0; S Camp 3-0; G Glover 1-1; S Dohmann 0-1; A Pettitte 7-3; S
Henn 1-2; M Myers 2-1. Batters faced: J Shields 23; C Fossum 6; S Camp 13; G
Glover 6; S Dohmann 8; A Pettitte 29; S Henn 9; M Myers 6.

UMPIRES: HP--Wally Bell. 1B--Tim Welke. 2B--John Hirschbeck. 3B--Laz Diaz.

T--3:50. Att--54,751.
Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 12 mph, right
to left.</div>

 

Duncan homers twice as Yankees embarrass Devil Rays

<h3>NY YANKEES 21, TAMPA BAY 4</h3>BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- At the plate it was quite aweekend for Shelley Duncan and the rest of the New York Yankees.

Duncan homered twice and knocked in four runs as the Yankeesembarrassed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 21-4, on Sunday.

Alex Rodriguez also hit his 498th career homer for the Yankees,who went deep six times in their best offensive performance inover two years.


The latest outburst by the Yankees featured a 10-run bottom ofthe fourth inning. Duncan hit a three-run homer to cap theuprising, then added a solo blast two frames later.

"It's fun," New York manager Joe Torre said. "It's nice to seethis kid, who's been working hard in the minor leagues for sixyears and then get an opportunity."


In all four games of this series, there was plenty of offensivefirepower. The Devil Rays scored 14 in the series opener onFriday but in less than 24 hours, the Yankees have scored 45runs, pounding out 53 hits.


"It was great," said Rodriguez, who reached 99 RBI. "Eventhough the games go long, they're much quicker when you'rewinning."


Torre watched his team record 20 hits in consecutive games forthe first time in franchise history. The 38 combined runs inthe last two games are two shy of the franchise-record set onMay 23-24, 1936 at Philadelphia.


"I've never seen anything like this," Torre said. "Even inbatting practice, you don't get hits every time you swing thebat. This was certainly pretty incredible and to be able tocontinue to get hit after hit after hit after hit, after hit andthe home runs and all that stuff (was impressive)."

"You're not going to see this too often," New York captain DerekJeter said. "It's one of those things you can't explain."

In this one, the Yankees turned a 3-3 game into a blowout with a29-minute inning. In the fourth, they sent 14 men to the plateand collected eight hits.


One of those hits was Duncan's home run to left field offreliever Casey Fossum. It was the second home run in as manydays for Duncan, who narrowly missed a three-run shot in hismajor league debut Friday and capped a five-run sixth inning inthe first game Saturday's doubleheader with a solo blast in a7-3 win.


Duncan has three home runs in last six at-bats. He is the firstYankee to hit as many as three home runs in his first fourgames since 1947.


"You hear people always ask the questions like what did youdream of your first hit, your first home run, to be honest, Inever really had those," Duncan said. "I don't know why. Inever really thought about it. I play this game. I play it towin. I play it for fun. It's a blast for me and everything I doout there I enjoy, no matter where it is."


Before the 27-year-old crushed Fossum's 3-2 offering andreceived his second curtain call in as many days, the Yankeesbattered Tampa Bay starter James Shields.


Shields (8-6) endured the worst outing of his brief career as heallowed 10 runs and 10 hits. His day ended after HidekiMatsui's RBI single made it 8-3.


"We just didn't pitch well, that's an understatement," Tampa Baymanager Joe Maddon said. "They just wore us out and they beatus up every which way you can."


The Yankees opened a 3-1 lead on Matsui's two-run home run inthe third but Tampa Bay tied it on Josh Wilson's two-run singlein the fourth. In the bottom half, New York struck quickly andoften en route to its ninth win in 12 games.


The Yankees had their first 10-run inning since September 4 atKansas City and it started when Robinson Cano tripled to theright field corner. He scored when Andy Phillips singled andthat put the Yankees ahead for good.


Phillips' go-ahead single was only the start. The Yankees hadfive more RBI hits and also scored another run on catcher DionerNavarro's throwing error.


The Yankees hit six home runs in a game for the first time sinceJuly 21, 2005 at Texas. After Bobby Abreu hit a solo shot inthe fifth, they kept pounding away in the sixth as Duncan openedthe frame by crushing a 1-0 pitch from Shawn Camp into theright-center field bleachers.


"It's been great," New York starter Andy Pettitte said ofDuncan. "It's awesome to see. I believe it's the first time he'sbeen in the big leagues. What an exciting few days for him."

After Duncan's third home run in his last five at-bats,Rodriguez moved within two of the 500 mark when his majorleague-leading 34th home run of the season landed on the nettingbeyond the left field wall.


Besides hitting his 17th home run and ninth in 17 games, Matsuialso had four singles. It was his first five-hit game duringthe regular season of his career.


The Yankees scored their 20th run of the contest with two outsin the eighth when Cano hit a two-run shot into the right-centerfield bleachers. That gave New York 20 runs for the first timesince June 21, 2005 against Tampa Bay.


Every starter had a hit and an RBI and the barrage was capped byMelky Cabrera's RBI base hit in the eighth.


The Devil Rays lost three of four last weekend at home to theYankees and also lost 11 games in a row recently. Unlike thosegames, they were never in this one as they allowed afranchise-record 25 hits and allowed the second-most runs inteam history - one shy of the franchise record set in a 22-4loss at Boston on July 23, 2002.


"It's embarrassing," Shields said. "It's absoulutelyembarrasing. This wasn't us this weekend. We're better thanthat."


"I think you can use whatever word you like," Tampa Bay leftfielder Jonny Gomes said. "You can use four-letter words,13-letter words. They could all fit somewhere."


All of the offense made a winner out of Andy Pettitte (6-6),who allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings andalso set a season high with eight strikeouts as he improved to13-1 lifetime against Tampa Bay.


A majority of Pettitte's starts have been close games so to keeploose during the 10-run inning, he spent some time in theclubhouse throwing a ball against a wall.


After the big inning, Pettitte was on his way to winning his12th straight decision against Tampa Bay and also recordedhis most strikeouts since fanning 10 hitters on
August 21, 2006 at Cincinnati.


"We scored 10, I think I sat in there for like 40 minutes.That's tough but I just tried to stay loose, try to throw upagainst a wall a little bit in here and stuff like that," hesaid. "More than anything, it's just mentally. I'm glad I cango back out there and get through it."


The Yankees used every position player except newly acquiredcatcher Jose Molina. Molina was obtained from the Los AngelesAngels of Anaheim and a front-row view of an offense that he sawpound his former team 12-0 two weeks ago.


With a thin bench, the Yankees had a relief pitcher bat in thisone. Sean Henn was inserted into the cleanup spot and struck outin the eighth.