to Boston for some fun at Fenway. Then it’s back home for the first Subway Series against the Mets at the new bandbox in the Bronx.
Despite going 0-5 against the Red Sox this year, the Yankees went north following Monday night’s 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays with a one-game AL East lead and the best record in the American League. Now they have to figure out how to beat Boston.
“Obviously we would like to get payback and say all that good stuff, but we have to go out and play well,” Johnny Damon said.
Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Damon and Derek Jeter homered against Andy Sonnanstine (4-6), who gave up four homers for the first time in his big league career and dropped to 1-6 on the road.
New York has won 19 of its last 25 games, improving to 34-23 after its usual slow start.
“Obviously, we’re playing a lot better,” Jeter said. “We don’t really take too much stock in what happened however long ago we played them.”
When the Yankees played at Fenway from April 24-26 and faced the Red Sox at home May 4-5, they were missing Alex Rodriguez.
“When Alex was out of the lineup, we were still scoring some runs. We were falling behind teams and coming back. We just weren’t pitching as good as we are now,” Jeter said. “Our starters have been good. Our bullpen has been good, and Mo has been Mo.”
g save No. 496, his 14th in 15 chances this year. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Rivera, who rebounded from Saturday’s loss, might not be available Tuesday after pitching three days in a row and throwing 42 pitches. But his closer said he’d be ready,
“Oh, definitely, we need to win a game there,” he said.
Teixeira’s solo homer in the first and Swisher’s two-run drive in the second built a 3-0 lead, but the Rays tied the score in the fourth when Rodriguez bobbled Ben Zobrist’s leadoff grounder to third for an error. Michel Hernandez had an RBI single and Gabe Kapler followed with a two-run homer to left, Kapler’s first home run since Sept. 7 for Milwaukee off San Diego’s Chris Young.
Solo homers by Damon in the sixth and Jeter in the eighth finished Sonnanstine.
“I just think we didn’t hit enough balls to right-center. There’s a conveyor-belt effect out there,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s kind of like a jet stream.”
There have been 105 homers in 29 games at the new ballpark, a sharp increase from the 160 last season at the original Yankee Stadium, and 63 have been hit to right and right-center. New York won despite finishing with just six hits – and no plate appearances with runners in scoring position for the first time since May 14, 2006.
n his previous two starts, he cut his bases on balls to three.
“I probably felt as strong as I’ve felt all year starting the game out,” he said.
All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria returned to the Rays’ starting lineup after missing nearly a week with an injured left hamstring and went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and a walk. Since injuring the leg while running out a grounder last Tuesday, Longoria had been limited to a pair of pinch-hitting appearances against the Yankees.
“He came in. He was adamant. He felt ready to go today, so we threw him out there,” Maddon said.
Athletics 4, Twins 3
At Oakland, Calif., Jack Cust hit a go-ahead solo homer if the fifth off Luis Ayala (1-2) after Jack Hannahan’s tying three-run double, and the A’s won their seventh straight.
It is Oakland’s longest win streak since an eight-game spurt from June 8-16, 2006.
Rookie Josh Outman (4-0) fell behind in the fourth when Carlos Gomez drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk and Matt Tolbert hit a two-run single.
Blue Jays 6, Rangers 3
At Arlington, Texas, Adam Lind hit a pair of two-run homers off Scott Feldman (5-1), who lost for the first time in nine starts this season, and Toronto stopped a nine-game road losing streak.
ave in nine chances.
White Sox 6, Tigers 1, 1st game
Tigers 5, White Sox 4, 2nd game
At Chicago, Jose Contreras (1-5) returned from the minors and allowed one hit in eight innings to win for the first time since June 27, earning the White Sox a doubleheader split.
Alexei Ramirez, Scott Podsednik and Jim Thome homered off Jeremy Bonderman (0-1), who pitched four innings in his first major league appearance since June 1 last year. Bonderman had surgery June 30 last year to correct a condition that caused a blood clot in his pitching arm.
In the opener, Brandon Inge hit a go-ahead single in the ninth off Scott Linebrink (2-3) after Joel Zumaya (3-0) allowed a tying homer to Paul Konerko in the eighth. Fernando Rodney worked the ninth for his 11th save in as many chances for the AL Central-leading Tigers.
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