Yanks Roll Past Rays For 63rd Win

Even when you've got baseball's best record, there's room for improvement.

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The Yankees won their eighth straight and improved the top record in the majors to 63-20 while keeping pace with the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates for the best start this century through 83 games.

"This is the first start of the second half, and it was definitely big for me to get a win," Irabu said through an interpreter after his first victory since June 10.

The former Japanese star (7-3) allowed three runs, seven hits, walked four and struck out five in 5 1-3 innings. His most impressive inning was the fifth when he worked out of a no-out, bases-loaded spot with the score tied at 3.

"He's not all the way back, but I thought his velocity was more consistent," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He pitched out of a tough jam. I thought that was very important for him to do that."

The Devil Rays lost their season-high eighth in a row and trail the Yankees by 31½ games in the AL East. Despite breaking out of an offensive funk with 12 hits, they hurt themselves by going 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

"Same old story. We played well, but not wel enough. We just can't seem to get over the hump," Tampa Bay's Quinton McCracken said. "The Yankees are one of the best teams in baseball. It seems like every night somebody steps up and gets the big hit for them."

Wilson Alvarez (4-6), making his first start since May 28 after being sidelined by tendinitis in his left shoulder, did not allow a hit through four innings and had a 3-0 lead.

But after Alvarez hit Brosius with a pitch and gave up a one-out single to Joe Girardi, Knoblauch tied it with his first home run since May 24, a stretch of 35 games.

The Yankees added a pair of unearned runs in the sixth, and Brosius hit a three-run homer off Esteban Yan in the eighth.

Fred McGriff hit a solo home run and Dave Martinez had an inside-the-park homer as the Devil Rays took an early lead against Irabu.

Ramiro Mendoza pitched 2 2-3 scoreless innings innings for his first save. He was moved to the bullpen in June when Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez was put into the rotation.

The Devil Rays took a 1-0 lead in the second without getting the ball out of the infield.

Martinez's grounder into the hole at short was the only hit of the inning, and the expansion team also benefited from two walks and a wild pitch before Miguel Cairo got an RBI on a grounder.

McGriff's first homer at home since April 28 made it 2-0 in the third. Martinez hit the first inside-the-park homer at Tropicana Field, circling the bases for a 3-0 lead in the fourth when center fielder Chad Curtis tried to catch a sinking liner at his ankles and the ball skipped through to the wall.

The Devil Rays squandered an opportunity to take control of the game again after Knoblauch's homer made it 3-3. They loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fifth, but Irabu worked out of the jam by striking out Paul Sorrento and getting Martinez to hit into a double play.

For the season, Tampa Bay is hitting a major league-low .205 with runners in scoring position.

"It's a long season, and sometimes you go through bad times," Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild said. "Right now, this is a bad time."

Despite allowing just three hits, Alvarez gave up five runs in five innings. Throwing errors by shortstop Kevin Stocker and third baseman Wade Boggs helped New York score its unearned runs in the sxth.

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