The Orioles sweep the Yankees and lost two out three to the Red Sox

AL East
Baltimore 8 4 .667 - W3
Toronto 8 5 .615 0.5 L1
Boston 7 5 .583 1.0 W4
New York 4 8 .333 4.0 L4
Tampa Bay 4 8 .333 4.0 L3

They certainly aren't going to win this season if they keep blowing leads.

Bases loaded and no runs score?

Ri-goddamn-diculous!!

:mad:

I blame vinnie dibenentto and marvin swan for the Yankees losing record

bschmale1113 has got to be the most strangest person. Does this have anything to do with the Pope's death pre-empting programming again, lol? Relax, the season is TWELVE games old. 150 to go!

And what does the 4-8 start for the Yanks in 2005 have anything to do with 2006, lol!

Relax, the season is TWELVE games old. 150 to go!

And what does the 4-8 start for the Yanks in 2005 have anything to do with 2006, lol!


:yeahthat

The Yankees will be fine. I do have some concerns about their bullpen, but they will eventually hit and Randy Johnson will help the rotation alot.

NEW YORK -- Randy Johnson's early-season struggles continued on Tuesday, as the Devil Rays handed him and the Yankees a 6-2 loss at Yankee Stadium.
The Big Unit allowed six runs in 7 1/3 innings, giving up a pair of home runs to first baseman Eduardo Perez. The loss was the Yankees' ninth in the last 12 games, dropping them back into a last-place tie with the Devil Rays at 5-9.

Jason Giambi got the Yankees on the board in the second, belting a solo home run to right field against Rays starter Hideo Nomo. The homer was Giambi's third of the year.

Johnson shut Tampa Bay out over the first three innings, striking out four while allowing just one single. In the fourth, however, Aubrey Huff singled and Perez bashed a homer to left, his first of the season.

The Big Unit tossed a pair of 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth, but Perez struck again in the seventh, driving a 1-2 pitch over the left-field fence. Perez became the first player to go deep twice against Johnson in a game since Marquis Grissom did it with Los Angeles on Aug. 16, 2002.

The Yankees rallied for a run in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 3-2, but Tampa Bay scored three times in the eighth against Johnson and Tom Gordon, making it a four-run game. Johnson was charged with six runs (five earned) on six hits in 7 1/3 innings, striking out eight.

NEW YORK -- Jaret Wright was roughed up yet again on Saturday, as the Rangers handed the Yankees a 10-2 loss at Yankee Stadium. But New York may have lost more than a game, as Wright left in the sixth inning with a shoulder injury.
The Yankees were out-hit, 19-5, by the Rangers, falling to 7-11 on the season.

Wright opened the game with a 1-2-3 first inning, but David Dellucci drilled a solo homer in the second to put the Rangers on the board. After allowing a pair of singles to start the third, Wright got Hank Blalock to ground into a double play, and it looked like the right-hander would work his way out of the jam.

But like Kevin Brown on Friday night, Wright fell apart.

Michael Young singled in a run, then Mark Teixeira crushed a two-run shot to right field. Wright committed an error on a Dellucci grounder, setting up Kevin Mench's two-run homer as Texas jumped to a 6-0 lead.

Chan Ho Park, who had a 6.30 career ERA against the Yankees, took the run support and ran with it. Park allowed a run in the third on a Bernie Williams double and a single by Gary Sheffield, but the right-hander gave up just one more single through 6 2/3 innings, striking out a season-high six.

Wright escaped a jam in the fourth, retiring three consecutive batters after putting runners on second and third with no outs. Wright got through the fifth with no problems, but after allowing two one-out singles in the sixth, he was removed from the game after complaining of pain in his right shoulder.

Steve Karsay allowed two runs in the seventh and Felix Rodriguez served up two more in the eighth, snapping the bullpen's streak of 15 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.

bschmale1113, are you going to post the recap every time they lose? You never say anything when they win. Makes me wonder if you are just a troll than a Yankee fan.

If you remember, the Yankees started off 8-11 last year. So if they win tomorrow with Randy on the mound, they'll be 8-11 again, too. And they won over 100 games last year. People are making a big thing out of this. Last year the Yankees lost 6 of 7 to the Red Sox when they were 8-11, this year they have gone 3-3 so far. So I'm not worried.

bschmale1113, are you going to post the recap every time they lose? You never say anything when they win. Makes me wonder if you are just a troll than a Yankee fan.

If you remember, the Yankees started off 8-11 last year. So if they win tomorrow with Randy on the mound, they'll be 8-11 again, too. And they won over 100 games last year. People are making a big thing out of this. Last year the Yankees lost 6 of 7 to the Red Sox when they were 8-11, this year they have gone 3-3 so far. So I'm not worried.
I Am a huge fan but if they keep losing you are going to see me post more

When do Yankees fans start to worry? At what record?

Let's go Mets!


;)

NEW YORK -- Kevin Brown had his best outing of the season, allowing three runs over seven innings of work on Thursday night. But the Yankees couldn't give him any run support to work with, going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position as the Angels took a 3-1 victory in the rubber match of the three-game series.
Brown, who had allowed 10 runs in the first two innings of his first two starts, got through the opening frames without giving up a run. He worked his way out of jams in both frames, but the Angels were unable to do any damage.

That changed in the third, as the Angels plated a pair of runs to break the scoreless tie. Los Angeles added a run in the fourth on Darin Erstad's RBI single, and it looked as though Brown was on his way to another poor outing.

But something clicked with Brown, who went on to retire the next 11 Angels batters, sitting the side in order in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. When all was said and done, Brown was charged with three runs on eight hits and one walk, striking out five, lowering his ERA from 8.25 to 6.63.

The Yankees got back one of the runs in the fifth on an RBI double by Hideki Matsui, who had just one hit in his previous 15 at-bats. Unfortunately for New York, that was all the offense the Yankees could muster against John Lackey and the Angels' bullpen, which tossed five scoreless innings to close out the win.

Both the Yankees and the Red Sox are off to a lame start this season.

NEW YORK -- Through the first six innings, Randy Johnson was untouchable. For one pitch in the seventh inning, not so much.
Eric Hinske's two-run homer in that inning spoiled what was otherwise an exceptional night for the Big Unit, who overmatched the Blue Jays for most of the game. The blast proved to be the difference as Toronto edged New York, 2-0, in a speedy complete-game matchup between former Cy Young Award winners.

The decisive seventh inning opened with Johnson picking off Alexis Rios, who singled. Johnson then walked Gregg Zaun and worked the count to 0-2 against Hinske before leaving a fastball over the heart of the plate, which the third baseman slugged just over the right-field wall.

The pitching angle of the contest held, as six of the first nine outs Johnson recorded were via strikeout and the 41-year-old left-hander dominated most of the Blue Jays lineup. Though Toronto moved runners into scoring position three times through the first six innings, Johnson was helped by superb defense -- some of it his own.

Johnson twice snared hot shots back to the mound, robbing Shea Hillenbrand in the sixth inning and John McDonald in the eighth. He was also aided by a running Bernie Williams catch to end the second inning, taking a run-scoring extra-base hit away from Orlando Hudson, and an inning-ending double play in the fifth.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, opposing starter Roy Halladay -- like Johnson, a fellow Cy Young winner -- was just as sharp.

Halladay limited the Yankees to three hits through nine innings as the Yankees left four runners in scoring position, including stranding two in the third inning.

New York's best scoring opportunity was lost in the third inning when Tino Martinez and Derek Jeter executed a double steal on a Tony Womack strikeout, giving the Yankees runners at second and third with two out, but Gary Sheffield lined to center to end the inning.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Chan Ho Park limited Boston to just three hits over seven innings and Alfonso Soriano hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the Texas Rangers' 7-2 victory over the Red Sox on Friday night.

Park (3-1) had a season-high seven strikeouts. Except for a rough fourth inning, the right-hander had little trouble against the World Series champions, who lost their third straight game.

Tim Wakefield (2-1) retired 12 in a row until David Dellucci led off the decisive sixth with a single. Dellucci scored on Hank Blalock's single to tie the game 2-all, and Soriano followed with his fifth homer.

Blalock, 5-for-37 his previous nine games, also had an RBI double.

The Red Sox played without manager Terry Francona. Bench coach Brad Mills filled in as Francona served the first of his three-game suspension resulting from the bench-clearing scuffles in Tampa Bay last weekend.

Park faced the minimum 11 hitters through the first 3 2-3 innings until walking Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Kevin Millar drove them home with a triple for a 2-1 lead.

Millar's drive deep into the gap hit off the heel of the glove of right fielder Gary Matthews Jr., who was in a full sprint when he lunged trying to make the catch. He ended up sprawled out on the warning track.

Park then struck out Bill Mueller to end the fourth. He struck out five of the last 12 batters he faced, including Ramon Vazquez to end the seventh.

Ron Mahay pitched two perfect innings for his first save.

Wakefield left with two outs in the seventh and pinch-hitter Chad Allen, the only batter faced by reliever Mike Myers, then had an RBI single.

Filling the rotation spot of injured Curt Schilling, Wakefield gave up five runs and six hits with four strikeouts. His AL-leading ERA of 1.75 increased to 2.78.

The Red Sox played for the first time since Tuesday, having been rained out Wednesday in Baltimore before their scheduled off day Thursday. They have lost five of six.

Boston pitcher Bronson Arroyo, who starts Saturday, was suspended six games and right fielder Trot Nixon two games for their roles in the brawls in Tampa Bay. Both will appeal, and Nixon played Friday night, going 0-for-3. Ortiz plans to appeal his fine, but wasn't suspended.

The Red Sox didn't allow a run in the first inning of their first 19 games, the only team to manage that. They have since allowed first-inning runs three straight games.

Texas led 1-0 in the first after Mark Teixeira hit a two-out single that dropped in front of Ramirez in left field. He scored when Blalock's high popup turned into a double when it fell between Ramirez and center fielder Johnny Damon, both players seemingly expecting the other to make the catch.

Laynce Nix added an RBI single in the eighth for Texas, then scored on Kevin Mench's double. Nix was 2-for-4, his fourth multihit game in eight starts since being recalled from the minor leagues.

Notes

Boston (11-11) has 11 losses in April for the first since 1999. ... RF Richard Hidalgo was out of the Texas starting lineup for the fourth time in seven games. He is mired in a 7-for-61 slump in his last 16 games and hitting just .181. ... Soriano's last four hits have been for extra bases.

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) -- Chan Ho Park limited Boston to just three hits over seven innings and Alfonso Soriano hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the Texas Rangers' 7-2 victory over the Red Sox on Friday night.

What's up with the recap of a losing Red Sox game? You plan on posting their winning games too?

What's up with the recap of a losing Red Sox game? You plan on posting their winning games too?

No, since he doesn't, why should I?

Both the Red Sox and Yankees suck so far this year. At least the Sox have an excuse that their top two pitchers Wells and Schilling are out.

No, since he doesn't, why should I?
Is he a Sox fan? Why are you posting about the Sox? Just curious.

Is he a Sox fan? Why are you posting about the Sox? Just curious.

Janice, this bschmale guy said that if the Yankees kept losing, he would post about it. The Yankees lost last night, so he posted the whole article about it. If someone's gonna post about it everytime the Yankees lose, then I see no problem in someone posting about it when the Sox lose. Like Pav, I'm a Yankees fan & I got tired of bschmale always downing my team. Pav was just responding to bschmale with his post about the Sox. I still don't know whether bschmale's a Sox fan or an unsatisfied Yankees fan lol I want to see my team win, but as long as the Sox are losing too, I'm happy ;)

Janice, this bschmale guy said that if the Yankees kept losing, he would post about it. The Yankees lost last night, so he posted the whole article about it. If someone's gonna post about it everytime the Yankees lose, then I see no problem in someone posting about it when the Sox lose. Like Pav, I'm a Yankees fan & I got tired of bschmale always downing my team. Pav was just responding to bschmale with his post about the Sox. I still don't know whether bschmale's a Sox fan or an unsatisfied Yankees fan lol I want to see my team win, but as long as the Sox are losing too, I'm happy ;)
I see bschmale made a brief comment on the Sox as well as posting other team's standings. He's also a Yankee's fan, so posting about the Sox losing isn't to piss him off.

Both the Yankees and the Red Sox suck so far this year, but the Yankees suck more, truth be told. I normally don't say bad things against the Yankees out of respect for my best friends here who are from New York (Brian D, TJL and dlemond).

Also, compare last night's losses, the Yanks got shut out. Steinbrenner must be going insane with all the money he spends. Over two hundred million. Someone's not getting their money's worth.

The Sox top pitchers are injured. What's the Yankees excuse? My husband thinks it's the lack of steroids rearing its ugly head on the Yankees. Giambi, Sheffield....and who knows who else. My husband also believes that the Yankees and the Sox will finish 1 and 2 in the end because talent, like cream, rises to the top.

The Yankees and Red Sox both suck - go Orioles!

The Yankees and Red Sox both suck - go Orioles!
Not the Atlanta Braves?

The Yankees and Red Sox both suck - go Orioles!

We'll see come around June who'll be in first place. Brian Roberts will come back down to earth by then.

NEW YORK -- Hastening to back up first base on a third-inning play Sunday, Toronto second baseman Orlando Hudson banged into umpire Rick Reed.
Hudson went one way, Reed went the other. They looked the way the Yankees feel.

"We've gotta move forward and forget about the 25 games we've played so far," Derek Jeter said after No. 25 turned into an 8-6 loss to the Blue Jays.

"We just need to be able to get people out," Joe Torre said, after his hurlers allowed the Jays to score five runs once his hitters had scored their last.

"Five innings is not going to cut it," said Carl Pavano, who lasted only that long and could not hold onto a 6-3 lead.

Adding it all up equalled the Yankees' 11th loss in 17 games, a 10-15 record and an eight-game deficit in the loss column to American League East leader Baltimore.

Shea Hillenbrand and Eric Hinske lined consecutive doubles in the seventh to snap a 6-6 deadlock.

The rally off Mike Stanton (0-1) lowered the curtain on a 3-6 homestand for the Bombers. Pete Walker (1-0) hurled two shutout innings in relief of Ted Lilly to earn the win.

Pavano, unable to get an out after the Yankees presented him with a 6-3 lead with four runs in the bottom of the fifth, pitched five-plus shaky innings to earn a no-decision. He allowed nine hits and six runs in five-plus innings.

Gary Sheffield, who launched his third homer in the fourth, and Hideki Matsui, dropped to No. 6 in the lineup, combined to drive in five runs to give the Yankees that 6-3 lead.

Frank Menechino's two-run single off reliever Paul Quantrill had keyed a three-run tying rally in the top of the sixth.

On a bright Bronx day, the glare blinded New York relievers. Most of a restless sellout crowd's boos were directed at the trio which couldn't contain the Blue Jays.

Stanton was only the middleman in this link.

"When they hand us a lead," said Stanton, who this time actually was handed only a tie, "we have to hold it. We just didn't do a very good job."

Before Stanton, Quantrill had only come close to bailing Pavano out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the sixth. Instead, all three men scored, tying the game at 6.

Except for Alexis Rios' sacrifice fly, all of that damage came after batterymates Quantrill and catcher Jorge Posada thought they had Frank Catalanotto struck out -- an opinion not shared by plate umpire Alfonso Marquez.

"I've been doing this a long time. You've got to shake it off and come back with a good pitch," said the veteran Quantrill, who wound up walking Catalanotto -- and giving up Menechino's tying single on a 1-and-2 sinker that didn't.

"Supposed to be down and away, but I left it up a bit. It was a good piece of hitting, taking me the other way," Quantrill said.

Torre was most bugged by the fact Quantrill had both Catalanotto and Menechino 0-and-2 before losing them.

"He was in good position, just couldn't put them away," the manager said. "Obviously, that was a huge part of the game. He'd put himself in position to get out of the inning, and couldn't do it. I'm sure it's frustrating for him."

After Stanton, Tom Gordon sounded an eighth-inning alarm, allowing singles to Catalanotto and Vernon Wells before being replaced and rescued by left-hander Buddy Groom.

The mere fact that Torre chose to yank Gordon -- normally, eminently effective against left-handed hitters -- with the hot Corey Koskie up said volumes about Flash's struggles.

"But you don't let one month of a new season change what he did for seven months last year," Torre said of his eighth-inning setup ace. "We're certainly not going to give up on him."

The Yankees' out-of-sync opening month has certainly disrupted the bullpen's normal rhythm. Gordon has appeared in 12 games. Mariano Rivera's appearance Saturday had been his first in nine days.

Quantrill, the guy who has pitched 80-plus games each of the last four seasons, worked Sunday for the first time since April 23.

"I don't know if I've ever had nine days off in my career," Quantrill said with a light shrug. "All things considered, I threw as well as I can expect.

"I went out there with the bases loaded and nobody out and gave up one hit, that's about it. It's unacceptable. I'm not happy with it. I would've liked to make a better pitch."

The outcome, unfortunately, totally obscured one of those unique Jeter moments.

The Captain had made one of his signature plays to thwart a bigger Toronto surge in the fifth inning. The Jays had already broken a 2-2 tie on a run-scoring grounder by Menechino and still had runners at the corners with one out.

That's when Jeter turned one of those gems which never show up in the box score, but which define him. As Wells took off for a steal of second, Posada gunned the ball down, and Catalanotto bolted from third.

Jeter, ignoring Wells, gloved the throw in front of the bag and returned it with vigor to Posada, who put the tag on Catalanotto.

The Jays got no more that inning. Alas, they got enough the ensuing two frames to render Jeter's brilliance moot.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Kevin Brown did not give the Yankees' revised lineup much of a chance for evaluations on Tuesday night, getting soaked by an early shower of base hits that set the Devil Rays up for an 11-4 win in Tropicana Field.
The Rays ended an eight-game losing streak by sending 11 men to the plate for eight hits and six runs in the first inning.

Brown (0-4) wound up allowing eight runs and 13 hits -- tying his career high for hits allowed -- in five innings.

The hole dug by Brown, who lost his seventh straight start dating back to last season, was too deep for the Yankees to overcome against Doug Waechter (1-1).

Solo homers by Tino Martinez and Jorge Posada and a two-run triple by Derek Jeter accounted for New York's scoring.

Robinson Cano, playing second base and batting ninth in his Major League debut, was hitless in three at-bats. He grounded out twice, with a strikeout sandwiched in-between

As much as I hate to say it, I really do think the Yankees won't win this year.

1. Bernie Williams has passed his prime. His offensive numbers have declined each of last couple of years.

2. Jason Giambi will never be the player we got from Oakland. Whether it was the abuse of steroids, age or whatever. He's not the same player.

3. Kevin Brown is finished. He has zero left in the gas tank.

4. Jared Wright seems to be made of glass.

5. The bullpen is putrid!

6. Mariano Rivera is no longer Mariano Rivera.

7. No bench players...Aside from Ruben Sierra, the Yanks have nobody to rely on to get a big hit off the bench.

8. Jorge Posada looks beat up and tired and it is only May.

9. Randy Johnson is in his forties and can break down at any minute.

10. Carl Pavano is average.

As much as I hate to say it, I really do think the Yankees won't win this year.

1. Bernie Williams has passed his prime. His offensive numbers have declined each of last couple of years.

2. Jason Giambi will never be the player we got from Oakland. Whether it was the abuse of steroids, age or whatever. He's not the same player.

3. Kevin Brown is finished. He has zero left in the gas tank.

4. Jared Wright seems to be made of glass.

5. The bullpen is putrid!

6. Mariano Rivera is no longer Mariano Rivera.

7. No bench players...Aside from Ruben Sierra, the Yanks have nobody to rely on to get a big hit off the bench.

8. Jorge Posada looks beat up and tired and it is only May.

9. Randy Johnson is in his forties and can break down at any minute.

10. Carl Pavano is average.


I agree with a couple of your observations, but as you said in #8, it is only May. Now if you catch me in a couple months sayin' "it's only July", then the Yankees have got major problems ;)

I totally understand that it is still early, it's just things that I'm seeing really disturb me. One thing the Yankees could do is make a big trade late in the season to get a big bat or add pitching. This year, they have nothing in their farm system to get anything.

I totally understand that it is still early, it's just things that I'm seeing really disturb me. One thing the Yankees could do is make a big trade late in the season to get a big bat or add pitching. This year, they have nothing in their farm system to get anything.

You want Glavine?
(as a Met fan I don't)

You can have another old pitcher who's finished to complete the bookends with Kevin Brown.

You want Glavine?
(as a Met fan I don't)

You can have another old pitcher who's finished to complete the bookends with Kevin Brown.
NO THANKS If Glavine is getting shelled by the lighter hitting NL, than I can only imagine what he'd do in the AL against power house hitters in the AL like Baltimore, Boston, Texas, Anaheim and Chicago.

I totally understand that it is still early, it's just things that I'm seeing really disturb me. One thing the Yankees could do is make a big trade late in the season to get a big bat or add pitching. This year, they have nothing in their farm system to get anything.

They just brought Robinson Cano up from Triple-A Columbus this week & he's now playing second base. He's supposed to be a good hitter & I hope he lives up to that reputation. When they shuffled the lineup around this week, I was a little surprised to see Bernie Williams head to the bench so soon. I think he'll be decent as a DH but it will be a little crowded when Sierra comes off the DL so who knows what's next.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Left-hander Sean Henn's Major League debut Wednesday night turned into another rocky evening for the Yankees, who lost to Tampa Bay, 11-8, despite a trio of home runs.
But solo blows by Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Tino Martinez couldn't overcome an opportunistic Devil Rays offense that scored 10 of its runs in the second through sixth innings.

Robinson Cano provided one of the Bombers' few highlights by collecting the first two hits and first RBI of his two-game big-league career. However, the second baseman also committed a throwing error that let in two runs.

With the loss, the Yankees (11-17) fell a season-low six games below .500. A loss in Thursday night's series finale would return them to a last-place tie with the D-Rays.

Henn (0-1), recalled from Double-A Trenton for the one-shot start in place of Randy Johnson, showed tenacity early. But the 24-year-old left-hander wound up lasting only 2 1/3 innings and allowing seven hits and six runs, five of them earned; he walked two without a strikeout.

The Yankees actually led this game, 1-0, on Rodriguez's 10th homer of the season, off Hideo Nomo in the second.

But the Devil Rays began their assault on New York pitching in the bottom of that inning, on Damon Hollins' two-run single, and seldom let up. They scored in each of the next four innings, too, with three runs scoring directly on a pair of Yankees' errors.

Keep it up bschmale, this is good stuff.

ST. PETERSBURG -- A 25-minute pregame meeting called Thursday by manager Joe Torre, like anything else these days for the Yankees, could not extract them from their current tailspin.
With left-hander Mark Hendrickson holding them to Gary Sheffield's two-run homer through 7 1/3 innings, the Yankees lost to an inspired Tampa Bay team, 6-2, to fall into a last-place tie with the Devil Rays in the American League East.

Alex Sanchez scored four runs for the Devil Rays, who were often brilliant defensively to present manager Lou Piniella with his first series win in 15 tries over the Yankees as Tampa Bay manager. The Yankees had won 10 and split four other series since Piniella took over the Rays for the 2003 season.

Carl Crawford's first-inning double off Chien-Ming Wang gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead, and the top of the lineup continued giving Wang fits throughout his stint.

Wang (0-1) allowed eight hits and five runs in six innings, with two walks and his first three Major League strikeouts. He didn't strike anyone out in his seven-inning debut Saturday and did not ring anyone up Thursday night until Toby Hall for the second out in the fourth. Wang also fanned the next batter, Alex Gonzalez.

Hmmm, maybe it's just me but I have no problem with how the Stank...I mean Yankees are doing this season. I think it's great.

This coming from a fan of the Mets who have constantly wallowed in mediocrity.

NEW YORK -- The Yankees were hoping that a return to the Bronx would provide the spark they needed to snap their three-game losing streak and start the momentum going in the other direction.
But even a late-inning comeback couldn't lift New York to victory, as the Oakland A's handed the Yankees a 6-3 loss in 10 innings, their fourth consecutive defeat. New York is now 11-19 through 30 games, tied for last place with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

The Yankees appeared to have some early momentum, as Carl Pavano sat the A's down in order in the first, then Hideki Matsui tripled in Tony Womack in the bottom of the inning to give New York a 1-0 lead.

Pavano held the lead through the second despite a leadoff double by Scott Hatteberg, but Eric Byrnes tied it up in the third with a solo homer, his third of the year. Oakland struck again in the fourth, using a walk by Hatteberg to set up Bobby Kielty's two-run shot, giving the A's a 3-1 lead. Pavano lasted seven innings, allowing three runs.

Barry Zito seemed to have it under control through seven innings, allowing just two more hits after the first. But the Yankees rallied in the eighth, using a John Flaherty walk and a Derek Jeter single (combined with an error by Eric Chavez) to put runners at the corners.

Jorge Posada, pinch-hitting for Womack, singled in a run to cut the lead to one run. Jeter and Posada then executed a double steal, allowing Jeter to score the tying run on an RBI groundout by Gary Sheffield.

Mariano Rivera tossed a perfect ninth, but he wasn't so lucky in the 10th. The closer walked the leadoff hitter, then hit another with one out. An infield single by Chavez loaded the bases, then Tino Martinez made a pair of errors on one play, allowing two runs to score, snapping the tie. Rivera walked in another run to make it a three-run game, and Kiko Calero closed out the win for the A's.

AP - May 8, 2005


NEW YORK (AP) -- Kevin Brown had allowed Oakland to load the bases with no outs in the second inning and was on the verge of falling behind early yet again. When he started Keith Ginter out with a high fastball, Mel Stottlemyre went out to the mound.

``I told him that the way to minimize the damage was to keep the ball down,'' Stottlemyre said.

Brown, according to the pitching coach, responded that Erubiel Durazo had just singled on a low pitch.

``I wasn't going to argue with him,'' Stottlemyre said. ``I said: `He's a lowball hitter. This next guy's a highball hitter.''

In truth, Stottlemyre had no idea.

``I was lying,'' he said, laughing. ``He kind of stumped me.''
Brown wound up jamming Ginter with an inside pitch, getting an out on a soft liner to third baseman Alex Rodriguez. He struck out Eric Byrnes, threw a called third strike to Marco Scutaro, then escaped a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth. By the time Brown left after seven innings Sunday, the New York Yankees were on their way to a 6-0 victory over the Athletics.

Rodriguez hit a go-ahead homer, and slumping Hideki Matsui had a run-scoring single off Rich Harden (2-2). Tino Martinez added a three-run homer in the eighth off Kiko Calero and Jorge Posada followed with a solo shot into the upper deck.

New York (13-19) hit back-to-back homers for the first time this season and won consecutive games for the first time since April 24 against Texas and April 26 against the Los Angeles Angels.

Since owner George Steinbrenner's critical comments about Stottlemyre were published Friday, Yankees starters have allowed just three runs, with New York pitching consecutive shutouts for the first time since Sept. 14 and 15 at Kansas City.

``Well, we've improved dramatically the last few days. There you have it,'' Yankees captain Derek Jeter said.

``Big improvement. You did a great job today,'' Jeter told Stottlemyre, chuckling, as he left the clubhouse.

New York, which won its 900th game under manager Joe Torre, took two of three from the A's, its first series win since a two-game sweep at Toronto on April 20-21 and its first at home since the opening series against Boston. Last year, the Yankees bottomed out at 8-11 in late April before sweeping a three-game series from the A's.
To Torre, the series win was more significant than the milestone.

``The 900th should have come last month,'' he said.

Brown (1-4), who lowered his ERA from 8.25 to 6.39, had lost a career-high seven straight starts since beating Toronto on Aug. 28, the first Yankees starter to drop that many starts in a row since Joe Page in 1944-45, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Coming off a horrible outing at Tampa Bay in which he allowed six runs in the first inning, Brown began with a warmup pitch that hit the backstop on the fly. It wasn't until his 27th pitch that a batter (Ginter) swung and missed.

He didn't think he pitched that much better Sunday.

``The biggest difference is I got a jam shot to the third baseman instead of a groundball in the hole,'' he said.

Brown allowed five hits, struck out four and walked one, getting out of the fourth-inning jam when Scutaro flied out. Tom Gordon pitched a perfect eighth, and Tanyon Sturtze followed with a two-hit ninth.

``He was a different Kevin Brown today,'' Stottlemyre said. ``He seemed to be more sure of himself.''

All those losses had weighed on Brown, a perfectionist constantly critical of himself.

``Of course those things run through your mind,'' he said.

Brown was given a lead for the first time this year when Rodriguez hit his 11th homer of the season leading off the fourth, just the second homer off Harden in six starts this season. New York added a run in the fifth on the single by Matsui, in a 2-for-20 slide coming in.

Oakland, beaten Saturday by Mike Mussina's four-hitter, was shut out in consecutive games for the second time this season. The A's, whose 108 runs are the fewest in the AL, have been blanked six times overall, the most in the majors, and have lost five of their last six games.

``We watched a tape of the last game Kevin pitched, against Tampa Bay, and they got on him early and he settled down after that,'' Oakland manager Ken Macha said. ``We had a chance to do the same thing. He was getting the ball up in the second inning. The line drive to the third, if it's up over his head, or right or left, maybe we get some but we didn't.''

Harden gave up five hits and four walks in seven innings, hit a batter and threw a pair of wild pitches.

``Harden is a handful,'' Rodriguez said.

Where's your recap of the last two games bschmale1113? When they win, I guess they're supposed to do that, huh? I see you never post positive news. Everything is always negative for you.

Where's your recap of the last two games bschmale1113? When they win, I guess they're supposed to do that, huh? I see you never post positive news. Everything is always negative for you.

I agree Pav, that's why I posted the results of the last two games, 'cause I know he only has something to say when they lose.

If the Yankees get back to .500 I will get a new post it will say the Yankees made win in 2005 the i only post just the bad ones beacuse they falling further in the standings but i hope that they keep winning and getting back in the race

If the Yankees get back to .500 I will get a new post it will say the Yankees made win in 2005 the i only post just the bad ones beacuse they falling further in the standings but i hope that they keep winning and getting back in the race

Uh, of course the Yankees will get back to .500. They'll still even win 100 games maybe, lol.

This coming from a fan of the Mets who have constantly wallowed in mediocrity.


And...? The Mets have nothing to do with how poorly the Yankees are doing.

It's just amazing how Mut fans love to see the Yankees fail, when there team has sucked for years. Instead of worrying about the Yankees, worry about your own team. Mut fans have Yankee envy. You are all jealous of the Yankees success throughout the years. Mut fans love to see the Yankees lose because they have nothing worth rooting for, yet Yankee fans could give a damn what the Mets do. WORRY ABOUT YOUR OWN DAMN TEAM!

It's just amazing how Mut fans love to see the Yankees fail, when there team has sucked for years. Instead of worrying about the Yankees, worry about your own team. Mut fans have Yankee envy. You are all jealous of the Yankees success throughout the years. Mut fans love to see the Yankees lose because they have nothing worth rooting for, yet Yankee fans could give a damn what the Mets do. WORRY ABOUT YOUR OWN DAMN TEAM!


You can do the same thing yourself. Why are you worrying about what a Mets fan has to say? WORRY ABOUT YOUR OWN DAMN TEAM! I said I was fine with the way the Yankees were going. That doesn't have anything to do with being a Mets fan. I could be a fan of whoever. I could be a fan of all the winningnest teams in sports, if I get into the Yankees doing poorly, so what??? If that's typical of a Mets fan like you suggest, why even bother responding to my post? Being a Mets fan has nothing to do with anything, I'll dislike who I dislike. WORRY ABOUT YOUR OWN DAMN TEAM!

I've just had it with these met fans who care more about the Yankees losing then their own team winning. Pretty pathetic.

MILWAUKEE -- The Yankees got a solid performance out of Carl Pavano, but Milwaukee's Ben Sheets did them one better, tossing seven shutout innings to hand New York a 2-1 loss.
The loss was the ninth in 10 games for the Yankees, who are now 1-7 on their seasonlong 12-game road trip.

Pavano gave up just two runs in six innings of work, both on a two-run homer by Bill Hall in the second inning. After the homer, Pavano allowed just three hits over the next five frames, but the Yankees' offense couldn't get anything going against Sheets, who allowed just two hits over seven innings.

The Brewers' ace made his presence felt immediately, striking out the side in the first inning. The Yankees threatened in the third, loading the bases with two outs, but Sheets got Hideki Matsui to ground out to end the inning.

Sheets hadn't walked five batters in a game since June 1, 2002, but he did just that on Tuesday night. However, he got the outs when he needed them most, getting out of the bases-loaded jam in the third and getting Jorge Posada to pop up with two men on to end the sixth, squashing the Yankees' last true scoring threat.

Ricky Bottalico tossed a scoreless eighth, setting up Derrick Turnbow for the ninth. The Yankees scored a run on an RBI groundout by Bernie Williams, but Turnbow retired Derek Jeter to notch his 10th save