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Hammel shuts down Yankees as Devil Rays pound Pettitte

Sep 2, 2007 - 11:58 PM By Doug Mittler PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Jason Hammel waited a long time for his first major league win as a starter. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays waited even longer for a victory over Andy Pettitte.

Both came Sunday when Hammel pitched five effective innings and Carlos Pena hit a three-run homer - one of four homers for the Devil Rays - in an 8-2 victory over the New York Yankees.

The Yankees lost two of three games to the last-place Devil Rays after sweeping a three-game series from the Boston Red Sox. New York (76-61) leads Seattle (73-62) by two games in the American League wild card race and opens a three-game series with the Mariners here on Monday afternoon.

"I don't think it matters who we play," Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said. "Everyone is going to play us tough."

Dioner Navarro, Josh Wilson and Akinori Iwamura also homered for the Devil Rays, who defeated Pettitte for the first time since September 16, 1998. Pettitte had won his last 12 decisions against the Devil Rays and fell to 13-2 against them in his career.

Hammel (2-4) won once in relief earlier this season and finally earned a win in his 18th major league start, the longest start-of-career drought since Mike Mohler was winless in 20 starts from 1993 to 1997.

"I figured it had to take a full moon or something," said Hammel, who celebrated his 25th birthday. "It was a fantasy-type win. It was all working together."

The 24-year-old righthander left after hitting Alex Rodriguez with a pitch to lead off the sixth and allowed one run and five hits without a walk and seven strikeouts.

Pettitte (12-8) had won his last six starts and lost for the first time since July 27 at Baltimore. The lefthander allowed five runs and 11 hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Navarro and Carl Crawford singled in the seventh before Pena belted a 2-1 pitch from Pettitte over the right field fence for his third homer of the series to give Tampa Bay a 5-1 lead.

"I felt great. I wanted to be out there," said Pettitte, who threw 119 pitches. "It was a situation where I didn't make the pitch I wanted to."

Pena has 34 homers this season, tying the franchise record held by Jose Canseco (1999) and Aubrey Huff (2003).

"(Pena) had good at-bats all series," Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He's always been a disciplined hitter."

Wilson hit a solo homer and Iwamura hit a two-run shot in the eighth off Edwar Ramirez to break open the game.

Iwamura's homer came with a substitute bat after Yankees manager Joe Torre had the infielder's bat confiscated by the umpires on Saturday in a battle of gamesmanship.

"I didn't really think about that," Iwamura said through an interpreter. "I don't know when my bat is coming back."

Scott Dohmann replaced Hammel and retired Wilson Betemit with two runners on to end the sixth.

Grant Balfour allowed an RBI triple to Bobby Abreu in the seventh. Gary Glover - the fifth Tampa Bay pitcher - worked the ninth for the Devil Rays, who have won eight of their last 10 games.

The Devil Rays took a 2-1 lead in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by B.J. Upton.

Navarro hit his seventh homer in the third to open the scoring, and the Yankees tied it in the fifth on an RBI double by Melky Cabrera. Hammel kept it a 1-1 game by striking out Abreu with two outs and runners on second and third.

Yankees first baseman Andy Phillips suffered a contusion to the right wrist when he was hit by a pitch from Hammel in the fifth.