Devil Rays Send Yankees Tumbling

The last-place Tampa Bay Devil Rays dropped the New York Yankees to their lowest point in a decade.

As owner George Steinbrenner got a close-up view from his suite at Tropicana Field, the reeling Yankees and their tattered pitching staff lost their second straight game to the lowly Devil Rays, 11-8, Wednesday night at St. Petersburg, Fla.

The loss was the sixth in eight games for New York, which made significant lineup changes the previous night to try to break out of a rut. The Yankees are six games under .500 for the first time since after games of July 19, 1995, when they were 34-40.

At 11-17, the Yankees are only one game ahead of fifth-place Tampa Bay, which ended an eight-game losing streak by beating up on Kevin Brown on Tuesday night. The Devil Rays scored 22 runs in their first consecutive victories over New York in almost two years.

Rookie Damon Hollins led the way, going three for three with a solo homer and four runs batted in.

The Devil Rays also took advantage of a throwing error by Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano, which led to a four-run third against Sean Henn (0-1), making his major league debut as a fill-in for Randy Johnson.

Alex Rodriguez and Tino Martinez hit solo homers off Hideo Nomo, who lasted only 4 2/3 innings despite being staked to an 8-2 lead.

Yankee designated hitter Jason Giambi was taken to a hospital for a precautionary CT scan after being hit by a pitch that deflected off his shoulder before striking him in the head. After being hit, Giambi leaned over but walked off the field under his own power.

Baltimore 5, Toronto 1 -- Sammy Sosa ended the Orioles’ drought of 22 scoreless innings with a two-run double in the eighth inning, and Javy Lopez had a three-run homer in a victory at Baltimore.

Texas 16, Oakland 7 -- Mark Teixeira and Alfonso Soriano hit two-run homers in a seven-run fourth inning, and the Rangers routed the Athletics to complete a three-game sweep at Oakland in a game called in the ninth inning because of rain.

Boston 4, Detroit 3 -- Kevin Youkilis hit a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, and Tim Wakefield won his 117th game with the Red Sox in a victory at Detroit.

Chicago 4, Kansas City 2 -- A.J. Pierzynski hit a two-run homer to lead the White Sox at Chicago. It was the Royals’ 14th loss in 17 games.

Cleveland 5, Minnesota 4 -- Josh Bard homered in the ninth inning off J.C. Romero (0-2), only his third hit of the season, to win it for the Indians at Minneapolis.