RAYS 7, YANKEES 4: Tampa Bay frustrates New York again and takes the series at Yankee Stadium.
By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer
Published September 9, 2005
NEW YORK - Maybe the best way to put it in perspective is this: The Yankees were glad to see the Devil Rays leave town so they could face a team they have a better chance of beating in the AL-East leading Red Sox.
The Rays staggered the Yankees again Thursday night, hanging on for a 7-4 win to continue their unprecedented and inexplicable success, winning their fourth series of the season and improving to 11-5 overall against what could end up a $200-million Bronx bomb.
"I'll tell ya, I've never seen a team play us as tough as that team over there," Yankees MVP candidate Alex Rodriguez said. "I think that those guys are going to head out of town is a good thing."
The four series wins matched the Rays' total from their first seven seasons, and the 11 wins are more than they had in 2003-2004 combined. Their six wins at Yankee Stadium match their total from the past four seasons, including 0-10 last season.
"It's always good to get the bully back one day, the bully that takes your lunch money every day," Rays rookie outfielder Jonny Gomes said. "I think it shows how good we are."
For the Yankees, the impact was more immediate.
They lost their lead in the AL wild-card race, falling one-half game behind Cleveland, and remained four games behind the Red Sox going into what they hoped would be a pivotal weekend series. At least they might have a better chance against Boston, given their 7-6 record. "We have to do better," Rodriguez said. "We expect more of ourselves. Tonight is just not acceptable."
The Rays followed what has been a familiar formula, taking an early lead as Jorge Cantu hit the 100 RBI milestone, and getting a strong start from Mark Hendickson, who won his fifth straight and extended his unbeaten streak to nine starts.
Hendrickson, who has defeated the Yankees three times, retired 13 straight after allowing a leadoff single and pitched into the seventh when the Yankees closed a 6-0 gap to 6-4.
But unlike the five times on the 10-game trip they ended up blowing the lead and losing, the Rays kept scoring throughout the game and got solid relief work from rookie Chad Orvella and All-Star closer Danys Baez, who picked up his 35th save.
"You get sick of coming here and losing, knowing you don't even have a good chance to win," Aubrey Huff said. "It's something this year about this team's confidence, coming in here knowing we can play aggressively. The key is getting up early every game. I think it puts a little more pressure on them knowing they have a little something to play for that we don't."
The Rays took a 2-0 lead in the first as Cantu became the third Rays to reach 100 RBIs in a season. They expanded it to 3-0 in the fifth and 6-0 in the sixth when Crawford got what manager Lou Piniella said was the biggest hit of the game, a two-out two-run double. Crawford, Cantu and Gomes knocked in two runs apiece, and Travis Lee later delivered an important insurance run.
The Yankees closed to 6-4 in the seventh, but Orvella, unbothered by the scene or the setting with 49,673 screaming fans, got three outs and Baez got the final four.
"We've been getting tamed here," Crawford said. "So it's a good feeling to come in and turn it around."
When Yankees principal owner George Steinbrenner was asked the other day about the Rays' success, he declined to comment. But Derek Jeter said it's obvious what has happened.
"You can't say you're embarrassed, because they're major-league players as well," Jeter said. "They've been playing us tough. It's just one of those things you can't explain. They've played better than us. I don't know how many games they've beaten us, but they deserved to beat us in all of them. They've played better in almost every area of the game."
