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A-Rod, Jeter lead Yankees over first-place Rays

Sep 14, 2008 - 10:02 PM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- Derek Jeter was likely going to break Lou Gehrig's record for hits at Yankee Stadium but is probably approaching it faster than anticipated.

Jeter tied Gehrig's mark with a fifth-inning solo home run as the New York Yankees posted an 8-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in the rubber game of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon.

The first-place Rays (88-59) now are just one game ahead of the Boston Red Sox (88-61) in the American League East Division. They return home for a three-game series with Boston starting on Monday.

Alex Rodriguez hit his first grand slam of the season and Jason Giambi added a two-run shot for the Yankees, but the day belonged to Jeter, who began the final homestand at the current Yankee Stadium by going 9-for-11 in the first three contests.

"Sometimes you're going to swing the bat well and get a lot of breaks," said Jeter, who has posted three consecutive three-hit games for the first time since May 26-28, 2004. "A lot of balls that I hit found some holes so I'm feeling good overall."

Jeter reached the mark by getting hits in six straight at-bats as he went 3-for-3 in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader and then had hits in his first three at-bats in this one.

"Without question (it's one of the special memories)," Jeter said. "I don't try to rank things but anytime you're talking about Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, those names have been at the top of the Yankee list for quite some time. To be within the same sentence or even talking about them feels pretty good."

The 34-year-old Jeter inched closer to Gehrig's mark of 1,269 hits with a bunt single in the first and a line-drive double in the second against Edwin Jackson. He reached it by concluding a nine-pitch at-bat off prized Tampa Bay pitching prospect David Price with a home run over the right-center field fence.

"One of the things is when you're playing in September, you face a lot of guys that you've never seen before, so it's sort of a learning process," Jeter said. "Everyone is well aware of how well he's pitched throughout the course of this season.

"He throws 97, 98, got a good slider. I fell behind and was just able to foul off some pitches and got a pitch to hit."

Upon tying Gehrig's mark, Jeter heard loud cheers from the crowd, which was chanting his name as Giambi was batting and the cheers grew louder when he took a curtain call.

The fan that caught the ball gave it back to Jeter in exchange for a bat and a ball.

"To think that he did it on a home run is pretty special," New York manager Joe Girardi said. "The great thing is the fan gave the ball back to him. It's really amazing because that's a huge hit and a lot of times players don't get back momentos like that. The fan that did it, that's really a heckuva of a job."

Jeter came up again in the seventh but bounced into a double play. His next crack at breaking the record will come Monday against the Chicago White Sox.

But Jeter was not the only Yankee to make the highlights in this one.

Rookie center fielder Brett Gardner made two diving catches in the late innings to thwart any potential Tampa Bay rallies. He robbed Jason Bartlett of a bases-loaded hit to end the sixth and covered a lot of ground in right-center to take away a hit from Gabe Gross in the eighth.

"I was trying to get a good jump," Gardner said. "In that situation you got to be aggressive and try and catch it, especially with the bases loaded. I'm going hard and if you can't quite get to it try your best to keep it front of you."

Jeter's milestone and Gardner's defensive plays helped send the Rays to a 3-6 road trip.

Other than Fernando Perez's first major league home run and Price's 5 1/3-inning debut it was a disappointing day for Tampa Bay in its final game at Yankee Stadium. The Rays got just two innings from Jackson (11-11), who fell behind 4-0 before recording an out and was rocked for six runs and six hits in just two innings.

"It's never good to lose a series," said Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, whose team lost 11 of 18 games with the Yankees. "It was obviously a tough road trip, not easy at all. The Yankees are one team that we haven't played well against this year."

Price, the top pick in the 2007 draft, allowed three hits while throwing 87 pitches.

"I felt like I was back in Vanderbilt," Price said. "I felt like I was back in high school."

Carl Pavano allowed four runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings before developing stiffness in his left hip. He was visited by the trainer after throwing the first pitch to Eric Hinske in the sixth but was not taken for tests and is expected to make his next start.

"I feel fine," Pavano said. "It's just a little cramp."

Edwar Ramirez recorded the second out of the sixth and Marte gave up a bases-loaded walk to Akinori Iwamura before tossing a scoreless seventh. Brian Bruney tossed a hitless eighth, but Jose Veras put two on in the ninth, creating a save situation for Mariano Rivera, who fanned Willy Aybar for his 35th save in 36 opportunities, tying Lee Smith for second on the all-time list with 478.

"It's an amazing accomplishment," Rivera said. "I don't keep track of things like that but someone told me."