Rays Slip Away From Yanks

Tony Graffanino and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays doubled their pleasure at Yankee Stadium.

Graffanino hit Tampa Bay's team-record seventh double, capping a two-run rally in the eighth inning Sunday that led the Devil Rays over the New York Yankees 6-5.

Bubba Trammell homered and doubled twice as the Devil Rays beat New York for the second straight day. They had lost their first nine games at Yankee Stadium and 17 of 18 overall to New York.

Tampa Bay won consecutive games for the first time since Sept. 3-4 against Minnesota.

Derek Jeter doubled to become the second Yankees shortstop ever with 100 RBIs. He joined Lyn Lary, who had 107 RBIs in 1931.

"Everyone was on me for staying on 99 for a while," Jeter said. "They were wondering if I would ever get it."

Despite the loss, the Yankees' magic number for clinching the AL East was trimmed to three. New York held its five-game lead over Boston, which lost to Baltimore 8-5.

"You want to clinch the division, first and foremost," Jeter said. "We want to get into a groove going into the postseason. It's not the best team that wins, it's the hottest."

Miguel Cairo led off the game with a double and the Devil Rays kept hitting them.

Not all of them turned out so well, though. Jose Guillen doubled in the fourth and ran toward third, not noticing Hebert Perry was standing there frozen, Guillen stood with hands on hips as Jeter walked up and tagged him.

Perry went 3-for-3, includng two doubles. The Devil Rays were down 5-4 when he opened the eighth with a double off Ramiro Mendoza (7-9) and Mike DiFelice hit a tying single. After Cairo's two-out single, Graffanino doubled.

Cory Lidle (1-0) earned his first major league win since Sept. 15, 1997, with the New York Mets. His 1998 season for Arizona was cut short by surgery on his right elbow, and he spent most of this year on the disabled list.

Lidle got two outs for the victory. Roberto Hernandez pitched the ninth for his 42nd save in 46 chances.

"Anytime you go under the knife, there's doubt in your head," Lidle said. "Thirteen months out, I don't feel like I'm 100 percent back."

Jeter joined teammates Bernie Williams (111) and Paul O'Neill (103) with at least 100 RBIs. Tino Martinez (97) could also reach the mark.

Jeter had gone five games without an RBI before blooping a double in the sixth for a 5-4 lead. The hit brought a note of congratulations on the scoreboard and a standing ovation from the crowd of 49,458.

Wilson Alvarez lasted only 1 2-3 innings for Tampa Bay in his shortest start since April 24, 1998. Yankees starter Andy Pettitte gave up four runs and 10 hits in six shaky innings.

Plate umpire Jim Joyce was accidentally hit in the right eye by a piece of dirt in the first, and there was a seven-minute delay while a Yankees trainer examined him. He left the game after the inning because of a bruised cornea, and second-base umpire Travis Katzenmeirer took his place.

In the second, Tampa Bay loaded the bases with one out and Trammell tagged up on a fly ball by Terrell Lowery. Katzenmeirer ruled Trammell had not crossed the plate before Perry was thrown out at third trying to advance, costing the Devil Rays a run.

The inning-ending double play brought a heated argument from manager Larry Rothschild, and replays appeared to show he was right.

"I was able to turn around and see the end of the play," Trammell said.

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