Yankees continue to heal vs. Rays

YANKEES 5, RAYS 2: Jaret Wright and two homers help New York end Tampa Bay's three-game winning streak.

By MARC TOPKIN
Published August 16, 2005

	[Times photo: James Borchuck]
	BANGED UP: Rays shortstop Julio Lugo gets hit in the hand as he's tagged out by Yankees shortstop Felix Escalona while trying to steal second base, ending the fifth inning. Lugo stayed in the game.

ST. PETERSBURG - Surveying Monday's batting practice from his dugout perch, manager Joe Torre said after four mystifying months of inconsistency that his Yankees seem finally to be hitting their stride.

They certainly looked it trotting around the bases in a 5-2 win over the Devil Rays.

The Yankees hit two home runs, a towering blast by Alex Rodriguez and a laser shot by Gary Sheffield, and received an encouraging performance from Jaret Wright in his first start since April 23 to win their fifth straight and improve to a season-best 13 games over .500 at 65-52.

"The season's winding down and they're fighting for the playoffs, and they're going to be playing a little more aggressive," Rays starter Casey Fossum said. "It seems like they came out swinging the bats more."

The Rays hit one home run, Jonny Gomes' 16th of the season, but got an inefficient, though somewhat effective, start by Fossum and saw their meager three-game winning streak end before 19,320 at Tropicana Field.

The Rays had beaten the Yankees in seven of their first 10 meetings and were buoyed by their own improved play. But the Yankees, chasing Boston in the AL East and Oakland in the wild-card race, are playing better.

"They're definitely hungry," Gomes said. "It's getting close to the end of the season. We want to win just as much as they do, but they've got to push. They've got to make up some ground. They know everyone's watching them and they're expected to win."

Neither team had a hit until Derek Jeter singled to lead off the fourth. Three batters later, Rodriguez crushed his AL-leading 36th homer, his third in his past three games and sixth in nine, to make it 2-0.

"It had a big sound to it when he hit it," Rays manager Lou Piniella said.

The ball might have been one of the longest ever hit at Tropicana Field, but it struck the C-ring catwalk that hangs about 100 feet above centerfield and bounced around the turf. As a result, it may have been the first time Rodriguez had to slide into third during his home run trot.

"Maybe in Little League," Rodriguez said. "I'm going to get a call from my mom on that one."

Gomes - who was hit by a pitch three times to tie a major-league record - homered with two outs in the fourth. He matched Oakland's Nick Swisher for the major-league rookie lead and improved his personal season total, including his work at Triple A, to 30.

"That's what you've got to do if you're hitting in the middle of the lineup," Gomes said. "You can't be flipping burgers out there."

Third baseman Alex Gonzalez's error on Jeter's grounder led to two unearned runs in the fifth.

Fossum, who revealed he had been troubled by a sore back in his previous starts that had limited his velocity, lasted only six innings because he threw 126 pitches, the most by a Rays starter this season.

"If there's a prize for it, I'll take it," Fossum said. "I battled a lot of hitters. I ran my pitch count (up). I still managed to give us six innings."

He can blame some of that on Jason Giambi, who saw 26 pitches on his own, three in the second (before grounding out), 11 in the fourth (before striking out) and 12 in the sixth (before fouling out).

Wright didn't look like he had been out four months, holding the Rays to two runs and four hits over 61/3 innings.

[Last modified August 16, 2005, 01:29:18]