Rays have some fun with Yanks

RAYS 5, YANKEES 4: Starter Casey Fossum dominates most of the way and Tampa Bay withstands a late rally.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published June 21, 2005

NEW YORK - There was nothing to indicate Casey Fossum would pitch so cleverly and effectively against the Yankees.

The Devil Rays starter had faced New York 13 times, winning and losing three, and had lost each of his three starts with a combined 8.81 ERA.

But there was Fossum on Monday night, treating Yankee Stadium as his personal playground, tossing a three-hitter over seven innings and providing enough cushion in what became a tense 5-4 victory in front of 43,543.

"I was just getting ahead of hitters and really changing speeds on my curveball and mixing it up every time I got out there," Fossum said. "I felt like I wasn't getting in any patterns. Everything was working."

"Awesome," catcher Toby Hall said. "It was a fun game to catch."

That reliever Lance Carter almost gave back a five-run lead when he allowed a run-scoring single and a three-run home run to Hideki Matsui in the eighth inning was put in the don't-ask-don't-tell category - which is exactly where it belonged.

It's not as if Tampa Bay gets that kind of performance from its starters every day. And it's not as if victories can be greeted with a yawn.

Tampa Bay won for just the sixth time in 34 road games and won back to back on the road for the first time this season.

The Rays also snapped the Yankees' six-game winning streak and for the first time have a four-game streak against New York, including last month's three victories at Tropicana Field.

"A good win for us," manager Lou Piniella said.

Shortstop Julio Lugo had three hits. Jorge Cantu's sixth-inning, run-scoring double off the glove of diving Gary Sheffield in right made the score 5-0.

Danys Baez got his 10th save when he cleaned up Carter's mess by getting the last out of the eighth and pitching a perfect ninth.

But it all flowed from Fossum. The left-hander hit Derek Jeter to start the game but struck out five in his first victory in seven starts. He had a no-hitter until Matsui doubled to lead off the fifth.

Fossum was pushed in the seventh as Alex Rodriguez doubled to lead off and Matsui walked. But Fossum retired the next three, including Jason Giambi, who was frozen by a fastball.

"It's just a matter of slowing myself down in key situations and not making any mistakes," said Fossum, who broke a seven-game losing streak as a starter dating to last season with Arizona.

Compare that to Yankees starter Sean Henn. The left-hander, called up from Triple-A Columbus to replace the disabled Kevin Brown, allowed three second-inning runs.

His fourth walk of the inning forced in one, and he allowed Lugo's run-scoring single that became a two-run play when Jeter's hurried and off-balance throw from shortstop to third went wild.

"I don't know what it was," said Henn, whose only previous big-league game was a loss to the Rays in May. "I didn't have it. I was all over the place."

Fossum stayed in control with his fastballs, curves and sliders. If he needed a changeup, he used his curveball at different speeds. He left the game after Robinson Cano's single led off the eighth.

"We just couldn't figure him out for the first seven innings," Jeter said.

Said Hall: "He was lights out."

[Last modified June 21, 2005, 02:30:30]