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Matsui's late hit lifts Yanks in first game of doubleheader

May 4, 2007 - 12:34 AM ARLINGTON, Texas (Ticker) -- Hideki Matsui helped overcome the latest letdown by the New York Yankees' pitching staff.

Matsui ripped a go-ahead double in the eighth inning as the Yankees captured a 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers in Thursday's first game of a doubleheader.

The twinbill was required after heavy rains hit Rangers Ballpark at Arlington on Wednesday evening.

The Yankees held a 3-2 advantage in the seventh before a rare home run by Jerry Hairston Jr. tied the score. However, New York rallied back in the eighth en route to its second straight win and ninth consecutive here.

Derek Jeter led off the eighth with a hard ground ball that Rangers shortstop Michael Young could not field cleanly in the hole, extending the Yankee captain's hitting streak to 19 games.

Jeter moved to second on a wild pitch by Joaquin Benoit (0-1) and advanced to third on a groundout by Alex Rodriguez. Jason Giambi was intentionally walked with two outs and Matsui followed with a lined shot into right-center field, putting the Yankees back ahead.

New York might have been able to score more runs, but the frame ended when Giambi was thrown out at the plate on the play attempting not to get crossed up on the basepaths with Matsui.

"He (Giambi) just cramped up and short-circuited between second and third," Yankees manager Joe Torre said of the play. "Where that ball was hit, what Matsui is watching, he's going to make them make a play for him at third. He was watching (third base coach) Larry (Bowa) waving him (Giambi) home and that's probably the last thing he saw and Jason just stopped." After Kyle Farnsworth worked around a two-out single in the eighth, closer Mariano Rivera struck out one in the ninth for his second save of the season.

Early on, Andy Pettite helped soothe some of the Yankees' recent struggles with the pitching staff, allowing two runs and five hits in six innings. He also struck out five and walked three.

Pettite did run into some problems early, loading the bases in the second inning with a walk to Hairston right after an RBI double by Gerald Laird tied the score at 1-1. Young followed with a hard liner to third baseman Rodriguez, who flipped the ball to second baseman Robinson Cano for the inning-ending double play.

It was the 34-year-old Pettite's best start since yielding two runs and eight hits in 6 1/3 innings of a 7-6 loss at the Boston Red Sox on April 20.

"He's gonna battle," Torre said of Pettite's performance. "He keeps finding a way to fight. He wanted to go out there in the seventh, but that would have got him up to about 140 pitches. He had a great sixth inning and that really helped us out in this doubleheader situation."

However, the bullpen spoiled it, as Luis Vizcaino (2-1) surrendered a home run to Hairston with one out in the seventh that tied the score at 3-3.

Hairston smacked a 2-2 breaking pitch over the left field fence for his first homer of the season, snapping a string of 366 at-bats without one. His previous home run came when he was a member of the Chicago Cubs against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 15, 2005.

The Yankees took the lead in the top of the second inning, due in part to a pair of defensive mistakes by second baseman Ian Kinsler.

With Rodriguez on first after being hit by starter Mike Wood, Kinsler unleashed a wild throw to first base on a slow roller by Giambi, allowing the Yankees to put runners at first and third with one out.

Wood, who started in place of Kevin Millwood, who was scratched with a sore hamstring, then had a chance to escape the jam on a grounder by Matsui that Kinsler bobbled attempting to start a double play, allowing the Japanese slugger to reach and Rodriguez to score.

Giambi, who finished with two hits, snapped a 1-1 tie with his fifth home run of the season in the fourth. The Yankees extended the lead to 3-1 on a sacrifice fly by Johnny Damon in the fifth.

The Rangers, who lost their fourth straight game, closed back within a run in the bottom half on an RBI double by Sammy Sosa.

The 38-year-old outfielder finished with two hits along with Mark Teixeira, who also scored a run.

Making his first start of the season, Wood allowed three runs - two earned - and five hits in 6 1/3 innings.

"We needed a lot of innings because of the doubleheader," Wood said. "I tried to stay aggressive and make my stuff work. I was lucky that I pitched the first game so I didn't have to sit around and wait."