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Abreu knocks in five as Yankees edge Devil Rays

Jul 15, 2007 - 4:18 AM ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) -- Bobby Abreu has been a disappointment for the struggling New York Yankees this season. He was anything but against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Saturday night.

Abreu knocked in five runs and Chien-Ming Wang tossed six effective innings to spark the Yankees to a 6-4 victory over the Devil Rays in the third game of a four-game set at Tropicana Field. Abreu and Hideki Matsui each homered for New York, which rallied from an early three-run deficit to take two of the first three games of the series.

The Yankees acquired Abreu at the July 31 trade deadline last season, but the right fielder has yet to play up to expectations since his arrival. A career .301 hitter, he entered Saturday's contest with a .271 average and just six homers.

But Abreu, who has homered in two of his last three games, and Matsui, who homered for the second consecutive night, each extended their hitting streaks to nine games.

"I felt good, I was trying to stay positive," Abreu said. "A game like this is going to help me carry on for the rest of the season. I am trying to do my best for the team."

In 1997, Abreu was briefly with the Devil Rays after the club selected him as the third overall pick in the expansion draft. However, Tampa Bay traded Abreu later that season to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kevin Stocker.

"Abreu is a perfect fit for what we do," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.

Trailing, 3-0, New York had its comeback sparked by Abreu, who beat out a potential double-play grounder in the third to allow a run to score. Matsui's leadoff homer in the fourth cut the deficit to one run.

In the fifth, Abreu's two-run blast gave the Yankees a 4-3 lead. He added another RBI groundout in the seventh and a run-scoring double in the ninth for a much-needed insurance run.

"He's good," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "And all of a sudden, he turned it on."

Wang (10-4), who is now 9-1 in July in his three-year career, overcame a shaky start and shut down the Devil Rays the rest of the way - allowing the Yankees' offense to come alive.

The righthander scattered seven hits - four in the first inning - and struck out six in six frames without a walk to improve to 7-0 in his last nine starts.

"After the first inning, things stayed the same, nothing changed," Wang said. "I thought the offense would get me some runs. I didn't pitch well, but I was a little lucky."

After Wang exited, relievers Ron Villone, Kyle Farnsworth and Mariano Rivera, who recorded his 12th save, each went an inning to close out the contest. Rivera passed John Franco for third place on the all-time saves list, recording the 425th of his career.

"It's quite an accomplishment," New York's Derek Jeter said. "It shows two things - one, (Rivera's) old and two, he's consistent."

Rivera said the most important thing was the team's victory but still cherished the moment.

"I'll save the ball," Rivera said. "It will be in a good place in my house. It's hard to believe (it's been 10 years). Thank God for this."

Andy Sonnanstine (1-4) lost for the fourth time in his last five outings, allowing five runs and nine hits in remaining winless since June 10.

"They have some exceptional hitters, that's for sure," Sonnanstine said. "I try to keep the same mentality. Both pitches to Abreu and Matsui were cutters. That's a pitch I've been working on. Only way it'll get better is throwing it more."

The Devil Rays, who touched Roger Clemens for a season-high five runs Friday, jumped on Wang early. Tampa Bay opened a 3-0 lead in the first inning lead on a two-run double by Carlos Pena and an RBI two-base hit by Delmon Young.

However, Wang settled down in the second. After allowing a two-out single by Akinori Iwamura, Wang retired the next 12 batters until Young and B.J. Upton hit back-to-back singles in the sixth.

Wang then hit Ty Wigginton but escaped the bases-loaded jam by striking out Jonny Gomes.

"I thought we played a pretty good game," Maddon said. "Sonnanstine gave us a chance to win. It was a well-played game on both sides. It is frustrating not to be able to carry that through."

Pena extended his hitting streak to 11 games for the Devil Rays (35-55), who lost for the 15th time in their last 17 contests and own the worst record in the major leagues.