NEW YORK (AP) -- After feeling at home in New York for so many years, Dwight Gooden struggled in his first road game in his adopted city.

Gooden, who spent the first 13 years of his career with the Mets and Yankees, was pounded for six runs and three homers before being knocked out in the fifth inning of Tampa Bay's 6-3 loss to the Yankees on Monday night.

	Doc Gooden's house call in the Bronx ended in the fifth inning. It was his first appearance in Yankee Stadium since 1997.

"I was obviously very excited pitching here as an opponent," said Gooden, 102-45 in home games for the Yankees and Mets. "It was different walking out to the mound from the other side of the field. But it was a good feeling, too."

That feeling didn't last long as Gooden gave up a three-run homer to Tino Martinez in the first inning.

Clay Bellinger and Paul O'Neill finished the job with homers in the fifth off Gooden (2-2), pitching in New York for the first time since Sept. 19, 1997, when he was with the Yankees.

"He might have been overthrowing a little bit," Devil Rays manager Larry Rothschild said. "But the biggest problem was his slider. It just wasn't right. That's been his best pitch. He didn't have his best weapon tonight."

New York has been the scene of some of Gooden's best moments of his career, including the no-hitter he pitched against Seattle at Yankee Stadium on May 14, 1996.

But he also went through drug and alcohol abuse with the Mets that derailed a potential Hall of Fame career and sidelined him in 1995.

"Pitching here was very special," Gooden said. "Coming here when George (Steinbrenner) was the only person who believed in me in 1996, the no-hitter, watching them win the World Series."

Gooden still has many friends on the Yankees, including David Cone and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre, who were with Gooden when he was with the Mets. But there were smiles given to his former teammates once the game started.

"It's all business when I take the field," he said.

Cleveland tried to keep Gooden, a crowd favorite in New York, from pitching at Yankee Stadium the past two years out of fear he would put too much pressure on himself.

Those fears might have been warranted as Gooden struggled with his control early, walking three batters in the first. Two of those walks scored when Martinez hit a shot into the upper-deck in right field for his fourth homer, giving New York a 3-0 lead.

"It's exciting facing Doc," Martinez said. "We happened to get him tonight. He was falling behind hitters and I don't care who you are. If you fall behind, you have to come back with something over the plate and you're going to get hurt."

Gooden settled down a bit after that, facing 10 batters over the next three innings, before running into trouble in the fifth.

Bellinger, in an 0-for-11 slump, led off by hitting a high fastball over the center-field fence for his second homer. Ricky Ledee followed with a walk and one out later, O'Neill hit his third homer, making it 6-3 and knocking out Gooden.

Jim Morris, the 36-year-old former high school science teacher, came on and got two outs in his first appearance at Yankee Stadium.

Andy Pettitte (2-1) allowed three runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings as the Yankees won for the ninth time in 11 games. Mariano Rivera, who blew his second save chance Sunday against Baltimore, pitched the ninth for his 12th save.

The Devil Rays produced a pair of run-scoring outs in the second and an RBI double by Jose Canseco in the third.

Tampa Bay threatened in the sixth, loading the bases with one out. Mike DiFelice hit a hard grounder that Martinez fielded in the hole at first to start a 3-6-1 double play. Pettitte stretched like a first baseman to end the play and pumped his fist before patting Martinez and shortstop Derek Jeter on the back.

"That sort of stopped the momentum for them," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.

Game notes
Gooden faced the Yankees in Game 4 of the 1998 ALCS, allowing three runs in 4 2/3 innings of a 4-0 loss. The only teams Gooden hasn't faced are Arizona and the Mets. ... Jeter, in a 6-for-35 slump, hit into some bad luck in the third inning when his hard grounder bounced off 3B Vinny Castilla's glove right to SS Kevin Stocker, who completed the 5-6-3 play. ... Pettitte got called for a balk in the fourth inning when he dropped the ball while standing on the rubber. ... Former Yankee Tim Raines threw out the first pitch. ... Rothschild was ejected by plate umpire Wally Bell for arguing a strike call in the seventh inning. ... Jorge Posada went 3-for-3 and is 10-for-14 on the homestand, raising his average to .367. ... Scott Brosius hit into a double play with runners on first and second in the sixth inning when he hit a ball just in front of home plate and didn't run to first, thinking it was foul.