GAME THREAD: AL: NY YANKEES (43-43) at TAMPA BAY (34-54)

AL: NY YANKEES (43-43) at TAMPA BAY (34-54)

<h3>Clemens faces Devil Rays</h3>



<div class="pre">Ny Yankees (43-43)at Tampa Bay 7:10 pm EDT</div>

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) - Looking to move back abovethe .500 mark, the New York Yankees continue a four-game seriesagainst the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Friday.


Baseball's biggest disappointment, the Yankees are starting toshow some signs of turning things around. They have won sixof their last eight games.


Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Bobby Abreu all homered as theYankees coasted to a 7-3 victory in the series opener.For Rodriguez, it was his major league-leading 31st blast of theseason.


The Yankees, who are 10 games behind the American LeagueEast-leading Boston Red Sox and eight behind Cleveland inthe wild card race,play their next 28 games vs. teams withlosing records.


Roger Clemens (2-3, 3.63 ERA), who has been brilliant in hislast two outings, gets the ball for the Yankees. The futureHall of Famer has gone eight innings in each of last twostarts, allowing two runs and seven hits.


Clemens also has had excellent success vs. the Devil Rays,posting a 10-4 record with a 3.11 ERA in 19 career starts.

The Devil Rays, who play seven of their next 11 games vs. theYankees, send Scott Kazmir (5-6, 4.41) to the mound as theytry to snap a three-game losing streak.


The 23-year-old lefthander was tagged for five runs and sevenhits in five-plus inning of a 12-4 loss to the Kansas CityRoyals on Sunday.


Kazmir, who has not lasted more than six inning innings in anyof his last seven starts, is 1-3 in seven appearances - sixstarts vs. New York.


Tampa Bay has lost 14 of its last 15 games.

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES AT TAMPA BAY -- LINEUPS

NY YANKEES TAMPA BAY
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Johnny Damon DH .245 5 27 Akinori Iwamura 3B .286 3 12
Melky Cabrera CF .276 4 31 Carl Crawford LF .282 6 51
Derek Jeter SS .334 6 45 Brendan Harris SS .313 8 39
Alex Rodriguez 3B .317 31 87 Carlos Pena 1B .288 20 52
Jorge Posada C .327 9 49 Delmon Young RF .281 9 48
Hideki Matsui LF .273 11 53 B.J. Upton CF .320 9 31
Andy Phillips 1B .310 1 5 Greg Norton DH .181 2 7
Kevin Thompson RF .200 0 2 Dioner Navarro C .175 1 13
Miguel Cairo 2B .263 0 10 Josh Wilson 2B .266 0 4

Roger Clemens RHP (2-3, 3.63) Scott Kazmir LHP (5-6, 4.41)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES AT TAMPA BAY -- LINEUPS

NY YANKEES TAMPA BAY
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Johnny Damon DH .245 5 27 Akinori Iwamura 3B .286 3 12
Melky Cabrera CF .276 4 31 Carl Crawford LF .282 6 51
Derek Jeter SS .334 6 45 Brendan Harris SS .313 8 39
Alex Rodriguez 3B .317 31 87 Carlos Pena 1B .288 20 52
Jorge Posada C .327 9 49 Delmon Young RF .281 9 48
Hideki Matsui LF .273 11 53 B.J. Upton CF .320 9 31
Andy Phillips 1B .310 1 5 Greg Norton DH .181 2 7
Kevin Thompson RF .200 0 2 Dioner Navarro C .175 1 13
Miguel Cairo 2B .263 0 10 Josh Wilson 2B .266 0 4

Roger Clemens RHP (2-3, 3.63) Scott Kazmir LHP (5-6, 4.41)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY
WARMUPS: NYY - ROGER CLEMENS (2-3, 3.63)
TAM - SCOTT KAZMIR (5-6, 4.41)

UMPIRES: HP - ED RAPUANO
1B - ED HICKOX
2B - C.B. BUCKNOR
3B - JOE WEST

WEATHER: INDOORS</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY
STARTING BATS: NYY - ROGER CLEMENS AND JORGE POSADA
TAM - SCOTT KAZMIR AND DIONER NAVARRO

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: J DAMON (.245, 5 HR, 27 RBI)
M CABRERA (.276, 4 HR, 31 RBI)
D JETER (.334, 6 HR, 45 RBI)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 0 0 1 0
TAMPA BAY 0 0 0 (BOT 1)

CURRENT PITCHERS: NYY - ROGER CLEMENS
TAM - SCOTT KAZMIR

DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: A IWAMURA (.286, 3 HR, 12 RBI)
C CRAWFORD (.282, 6 HR, 51 RBI)
B HARRIS (.313, 8 HR, 39 RBI)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES (0) VS TAMPA BAY (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon dh 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .248
M Cabrera cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .275
D Jeter ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333
A Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
J Posada c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .327
H Matsui lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
A Phillips 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .310
K Thompson rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
M Cairo 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263

Totals 3 0 1 0 0 1 2

BATTING: GIDP - D Jeter. Team LOB - 0.


TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
C Crawford lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
B Harris ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .313
C Pena 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
D Young rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
B Upton cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .320
G Norton dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .181
D Navarro c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .175
J Wilson 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Wilson-C Pena).


----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES - 0 -- 0
TAMPA BAY - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
R Clemens 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.63

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
S Kazmir 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.37

Pitches-strikes: S Kazmir 18-13. Ground balls-fly balls: S Kazmir 2-0.
Batters faced: S Kazmir 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Rapuano. 1B--Ed Hickox. 2B--C.B. Bucknor. 3B--Joe West.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY
CONFIRMED STARTERS: NYY - ROGER CLEMENS
TAM - SCOTT KAZMIR</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 0 0 1 0
TAMPA BAY 0 0 0 0 (TOP 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: NYY - ROGER CLEMENS
TAM - SCOTT KAZMIR

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: A RODRIGUEZ (.317, 31 HR, 87 RBI)
J POSADA (.327, 9 HR, 49 RBI)
H MATSUI (.273, 11 HR, 53 RBI)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES (0) VS TAMPA BAY (0) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon dh 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .248
M Cabrera cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .275
D Jeter ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333
A Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317
J Posada c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .327
H Matsui lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273
A Phillips 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .310
K Thompson rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
M Cairo 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263

Totals 3 0 1 0 0 1 2

BATTING: GIDP - D Jeter. Team LOB - 0.


TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .285
C Crawford lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
B Harris ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .312
C Pena 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
D Young rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
B Upton cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .320
G Norton dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .181
D Navarro c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .175
J Wilson 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Wilson-C Pena).


----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES - 0 -- 0
TAMPA BAY - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
R Clemens 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.54

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
S Kazmir 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 4.37

Pitches-strikes: R Clemens 10-7; S Kazmir 18-13. Ground balls-fly balls: R
Clemens 0-3; S Kazmir 2-0. Batters faced: R Clemens 3; S Kazmir 3.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Rapuano. 1B--Ed Hickox. 2B--C.B. Bucknor. 3B--Joe West.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 0 0 0 1 0
TAMPA BAY 0 0 0 0 (BOT 2)

CURRENT PITCHERS: NYY - ROGER CLEMENS
TAM - SCOTT KAZMIR

DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: C PENA (.288, 20 HR, 52 RBI)
D YOUNG (.281, 9 HR, 48 RBI)
B UPTON (.320, 9 HR, 31 RBI)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES (0) VS TAMPA BAY (0) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon dh 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .248
M Cabrera cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .275
D Jeter ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333
A Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .317
J Posada c 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .325
H Matsui lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .272
A Phillips 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .302
K Thompson rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
M Cairo 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263

Totals 6 0 1 0 1 3 5

BATTING: GIDP - D Jeter. Team LOB - 1.


TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .285
C Crawford lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
B Harris ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .312
C Pena 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .288
D Young rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281
B Upton cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .320
G Norton dh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .181
D Navarro c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .175
J Wilson 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266

Totals 3 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Wilson-C Pena).


----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES - 00 -- 0
TAMPA BAY - 0 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
R Clemens 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.54

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
S Kazmir 2 1 0 0 1 3 0 4.33

Pitches-strikes: R Clemens 10-7; S Kazmir 36-21. Ground balls-fly balls: R
Clemens 0-3; S Kazmir 3-0. Batters faced: R Clemens 3; S Kazmir 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Rapuano. 1B--Ed Hickox. 2B--C.B. Bucknor. 3B--Joe West.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SACRIFICE FLY BY B.J. UPTON SCORED CARLOS PENA.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, D YOUNG ON SECOND, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 0
TAMPA BAY 1 BOTTOM, 2ND

DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: G NORTON (.181, 2 HR, 7 RBI)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
TRIPLE BY JOSH WILSON SCORED DELMON YOUNG AND GREG NORTON.

SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, J WILSON ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 0
TAMPA BAY 3 BOTTOM, 2ND

DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: A IWAMURA (.285, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 0 0 0 1 0
TAMPA BAY 0 3 3 3 0 (TOP 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: NYY - ROGER CLEMENS
TAM - SCOTT KAZMIR

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: K THOMPSON (.200, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
M CAIRO (.263, 0 HR, 10 RBI)
J DAMON (.248, 1-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES (0) VS TAMPA BAY (3) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon dh 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .248
M Cabrera cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .275
D Jeter ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333
A Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .317
J Posada c 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .325
H Matsui lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .272
A Phillips 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .302
K Thompson rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
M Cairo 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263

Totals 6 0 1 0 1 3 5

BATTING: GIDP - D Jeter. Team LOB - 1.


TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .284
C Crawford lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
B Harris ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .312
C Pena 1b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .291
D Young rf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .283
B Upton cf 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .320
G Norton dh 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .181
D Navarro c 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .175
J Wilson 2b 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 .277

Totals 8 3 3 3 1 1 4

BATTING: 2B - D Young (20, R Clemens). 3B - J Wilson (1, R Clemens). SF - B
Upton. RBI - B Upton (32), J Wilson 2 (6). 2-out RBI - J Wilson 2. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - A Iwamura 1. Team LOB - 1.

FIELDING: DP: 1 (J Wilson-C Pena).


----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES - 00 -- 0
TAMPA BAY - 03 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
R Clemens 2 3 3 3 1 1 0 4.10

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
S Kazmir 2 1 0 0 1 3 0 4.33

Pitches-strikes: R Clemens 35-18; S Kazmir 36-21. Ground balls-fly balls: R
Clemens 0-5; S Kazmir 3-0. Batters faced: R Clemens 10; S Kazmir 7.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Rapuano. 1B--Ed Hickox. 2B--C.B. Bucknor. 3B--Joe West.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL NY YANKEES AT TAMPA BAY
NOTE: TAMPA BAY FIRST BASEMAN CARLOS PENA EXTENDED HIS
HITTING STREAK TO 10 GAMES WITH A SINGLE IN THE SECOND INNING.</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL AT TAMPA BAY - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY MELKY CABRERA SCORED JOHNNY DAMON.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, M CABRERA ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: NY YANKEES 1
TAMPA BAY 3 TOP, 3RD

DUE UP FOR NY YANKEES: D JETER (.333, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
NY YANKEES 0 0 1 1 2 0
TAMPA BAY 0 3 3 3 1 (BOT 3)

CURRENT PITCHERS: NYY - ROGER CLEMENS
TAM - SCOTT KAZMIR

DUE UP FOR TAMPA BAY: C CRAWFORD (.282, 0-FOR-1)
B HARRIS (.312, 0-FOR-1)
C PENA (.291, 1-FOR-1)</div>

 

AL: NY YANKEES at TAMPA BAY

<div class="pre">NY YANKEES (1) VS TAMPA BAY (3) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS

NY YANKEES ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
J Damon dh 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 .247
M Cabrera cf 2 0 1 0 0 1 1 .278
D Jeter ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .332
A Rodriguez 3b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .317
J Posada c 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .325
H Matsui lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .272
A Phillips 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .302
K Thompson rf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .188
M Cairo 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .263

Totals 10 1 2 0 2 4 7

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Jeter 1. GIDP - D Jeter.
Team LOB - 2.


TAMPA BAY ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
A Iwamura 3b 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .284
C Crawford lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282
B Harris ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .312
C Pena 1b 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .291
D Young rf 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .283
B Upton cf 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 .320
G Norton dh 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .181
D Navarro c 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .175
J Wilson 2b 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 .277

Totals 8 3 3 3 1 1 4

BATTING: 2B - D Young (20, R Clemens). 3B - J Wilson (1, R Clemens). SF - B
Upton. RBI - B Upton (32), J Wilson 2 (6). 2-out RBI - J Wilson 2. Runners left
in scoring position, 2 out - A Iwamura 1. Team LOB - 1.

FIELDING: E - D Young (7, throw). DP: 1 (J Wilson-C Pena).


----------------------------------------------------
NY YANKEES - 001 -- 1
TAMPA BAY - 03 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

NY YANKEES ip h r er bb so hr era
R Clemens 2 3 3 3 1 1 0 4.10

TAMPA BAY ip h r er bb so hr era
S Kazmir 3 2 1 1 2 4 0 4.37

Pitches-strikes: R Clemens 35-18; S Kazmir 63-39. Ground balls-fly balls: R
Clemens 0-5; S Kazmir 5-0. Batters faced: R Clemens 10; S Kazmir 12.

UMPIRES: HP--Ed Rapuano. 1B--Ed Hickox. 2B--C.B. Bucknor. 3B--Joe West.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>