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Pinch hitter Betemit lifts Yankees over White Sox

Sep 16, 2008 - 3:30 AM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Derek Jeter could not quite reach the milestone he was looking for, but the New York Yankees recorded something they value even more - a victory.

Jeter remained tied with Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig for the most hits at Yankee Stadium, but pinch hitter Wilson Betemit delivered an RBI double as the Yankees pulled out a 4-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night.

In the opener of a four-game series, the Yankees won their third in a row over a division leader as they denied the White Sox an opportunity to increase their lead in the American League Central Division. Chicago (83-66) remained 1 1/2 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins (82-68) for the top spot in the division.

After going 3-for-4 and tying Gehrig with a fifth-inning home run off Tampa Bay Rays rookie David Price Sunday, Jeter remained stuck on 1,269 hits here as he struck out twice and went 0-for-4.

Every time Jeter stepped to the plate, he was greeted with thousands of flashbulbs from people attempting to record the moment on digital cameras.

Jeter will get another crack at the mark Tuesday against Gavin Floyd but saw his teammates score twice against Chicago's struggling bullpen in the seventh and improve to 3-1 on their final homestand at the current Yankee Stadium.

While Jeter did not get his milestone, the comeback allowed the Yankees to get the ball to Mariano Rivera, whom Jeter has known since he first was drafted in 1992. Rivera finished the win and recorded his 479th career save, moving past Lee Smith for sole possession of second place on the all-time list.

"I'm so happy for Mo," Jeter said. "That's what everybody should be talking about - his consistency throughout the years. He deserves everything he gets. A lot of time, he goes unnoticed in terms of the attention because people take it for granted. But we definitely don't take it for granted, but I'm happy I was here to see all of them."

"Jeter is the type of guy, it's not his focus," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Mariano, it's not his focus - winning ballgames has been their focus their whole career and I think that's why they were able to be so successful because they don't get caught up in their personal achievements."

For six innings, the Yankees appeared like they were going to have to wait another day for Rivera to pass Smith. They managed just a two-run home run by Xavier Nady in the second among six hits off Chicago lefthander Mark Buehrle but they got him to 101 pitches and began their winning rally in the seventh.

Nady started the rally with a walk off Ehren Wasserman and was sacrificed to second by Cody Ransom. As soon as Girardi inserted the switch-hitting Betemit for Chad Moeller, lefthander Horacio Ramirez came on.

Ramirez got ahead in the count, but Betemit evened it and lined a 2-2 pitch that bounced off the left-center field fence for a ground-rule double. Betemit took third when rookie Brett Gardner flied out and scored when Johnny Damon singled to right.

"Guys take the field with a lot of pride and play hard on a nightly basis no matter what the situation is," Nady said.

The collapse generated even more frustration from Ozzie Gullien, whose bullpen coughed up a 7-0 lead Sunday night against Detroit and now has a 5.60 ERA in the last 56 games.

"I lost my touch the last few weeks," Guillen said. "If I got paid every time that I went to the mound, I wouldn't need a salary."

"I"m not (losing confidence in the bullpen)," Buerhle said. "They're going to go through their rough stretches. It's a long season. Guys are going to give it up. We're still a game and half in first place, so let's get the rough times out right now and hopefully turn it around."

Jeter came up with a chance to widen the lead but popped out to third base.

The seventh-inning comeback came on a night that saw the Yankees get solid efforts from three young pitchers.

Alfredo Aceves, who was signed out of the Mexican League and pitched at three different minor league levels this season, allowed just DeWayne Wise's fourth-inning home run among five hits in six innings.

"He's rose real quickly through the minor leagues," Girardi said of Aceves. "He's mature. He has four pitches. He can throw them at any time."

Phil Coke (1-0), who nearly was sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the deal for Nady, pitched a perfect seventh for his first career win. Joba Chamberlain gave up a one-out infield hit to Orlando Cabrera but fanned Wise and retired Jermaine Dye on a groundout.

"The only thing I expect of myself is to go out there and throw strikes as often as possible," said Coke, who has begun his career with six scoreless outings. "If you go out there and do that, good things happen."