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Upton, Devil Rays outslug Rodriguez, Yankees

Apr 24, 2007 - 5:15 AM ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez tried to single-handedly carry his club. But B.J. Upton and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays responded as the New York Yankees' pitching staff continued to crumble.

Upton homered and drove in four runs and Rocco Baldelli smacked a three-run blast for the Devil Rays en route to a 10-8 victory over the red-hot Rodriguez and the struggling Yankees.

It was another eye-popping performance by Rodriguez, who blasted two more homers and drove in three runs - going 4-for-5 - to increase his league-leading power numbers to 14 homers and 34 RBI.

"He's always been good, but this is (abnormal)," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said of Rodriguez. "I don't know what we'll do (Tuesday)." The pair of blasts tied Rodriguez with St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, who also belted 14 homers in April last season - a major league record.

"It's easy to say 'wow' when we're winning games," Rodriguez said. "We're kind of in the midst of a grind. It's a long season and we have to work ourselves out (of the slump).

"The key is not to get discouraged. We have to keep the same approach and try not to do too much. If we can keep having that approach over the long haul, we'll have more wins than losses."

But the star third baseman was upstaged by Upton, who blasted a solo homer in the fourth off Kei Igawa and a bases-clearing double in the seventh inning to give the Devil Rays a 10-6 lead.

"Give credit to the guys in front on me," Upton said. "They were on base and I came through with the hit. When runners are in scoring position, I try to be more aggressive."

Upton's homer hit off the foul pole and just above the four-foot fence in the left field corner.

"It's a home run," Upton said. "Thank you for that little fence."

Igawa (1-1) continued New York's pitching woes, allowing seven runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings, while walking three and striking out three. New York's beleaguered bullpen yielded three runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 frames.

"He (Igawa) had no command," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "He was missing his spots by a long way. You're certainly not going to have success when you don't throw enough strikes and you don't spot the ball.

"You know (the pitching staff) is going to get better. You go out and score eight runs - it certainly should be enough. We scored five straight innings and couldn't get the lead."

Casey Fossum (2-1) was not much better, allowing six runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3 innings, but rode Tampa Bay's offensive outburst to the win. Four Devil Rays relievers pitched a perfect 2 1/3 innings before Al Reyes allowed a two-run homer to Rodriguez in the ninth.

"The offense picked me up," Fossum said. "New York scored a run off me every inning, but the bullpen did a fabulous job shutting the door."

Baldelli said the Devil Rays enjoyed their rare appearance on national television.

"We went out there and got the job done," Baldelli said. "We don't play on ESPN and national TV a lot, so it was nice when all your friends and family can see you. They (the Yankees) were on ESPN (Sunday) night so it's not a big deal to them."