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Tuesday, May 9 7:05pm ET
Yankees walk to victory in 10th | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Back in the lineup after missing more than a week, Chuck Knoblauch merely hoped he wouldn't mess up. He did a lot better than that. Knoblauch, out since May 1 because of a sprained left wrist, doubled to set up Paul O'Neill's bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning Tuesday night and the New York Yankees beat Tampa Bay 4-3. "You're never amazed around here because things like that keep happening," Knoblauch said. "I was saying before the game that hopefully I'd get in the box and it would click. I was glad to get in there and not mess anything up and keep the winning going," he said. "I was lucky, I guess." The Yankees won for the eighth time in nine games. The Devil Rays have lost three in a row and eight of 10. Scott Brosius drew a one-out walk from Rick White (0-2) in the 10th and Knoblauch blooped an opposite-field double that bounced into the right-field stands. Knoblauch originally hurt himself April 23 at Toronto while swinging a weighted bat, then re-injured his wrist last week at Cleveland. The leadoff man went 2-for-5 in his return, and was flawless in the field at second base. After an intentional walk to Derek Jeter, Jim Morris relieved White. O'Neill did not even need to swing, walking on four pitches to force home the winning run. "They brought in a lefty to get a lefty out and I didn't do it," Morris said. "It was my fault." "No, I wasn't nervous," he said. "I just didn't get it done. They're very disciplined. They stay in the game until they make someone else make a mistake." Left-handed hitters are only 3-for-18 against Morris this season. The Yankees had scored their previous 13 runs on homers, and were glad to get a run this way. "When you have the bases loaded, you have to make him throw strikes," O'Neill said. "It's a great spot to be in. These are the at-bats that are fun." Jeff Nelson (6-0) pitched two perfect innings. He is tied with Toronto's David Wells and Chicago's James Baldwin for the AL victory lead. "I never expected to be 6-0 this early. It's just because we've been scoring late and I happened to be in the games," Nelson said. The Yankees won despite Jeter going 0-for-4, leaving him hitless in 12 at-bats. He has gone three straight games without a hit for the first time since April 1997, when he went four in a row. Jorge Posada led off the seventh with a home run to dead center field off Esteban Yan, tying it at 3. Posada also doubled, giving him 12 hits in his last 17 at-bats. Shane Spencer hit a two-run homer in the fifth. He broke an 0-for-12 slump, connecting after a leadoff single by Ricky Ledee. Greg Vaughn hit his 10th homer, a two-run drive in the third that put the Devil Rays ahead 3-0. He has nine career home runs at Yankee Stadium, including two for San Diego in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series. Fred McGriff walked in the second and Vinny Castilla hit an RBI double off David Cone. Yan tied a career high by pitching seven innings. Cone went 7 2/3 innings, his longest outing in seven starts this year. Game notesBernie Williams was the DH for the fourth time this year while Ledee played center field. ... Vaughn did not hit his 10th homer last year until May 31. He was nearly traded from San Diego to the Yankees on July 4, 1997, for Kenny Rogers and Mariano Duncan. The Yankees voided the deal, saying Vaughn was injured. ... Vaughn is 16-for-33 with runners in scoring position. ... The Yankees are 3-0 in extra innings after going 7-2 last year. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Tampa Bay Clubhouse NY Yankees Clubhouse RECAPS Chi. White Sox 6 Boston 0
NY Yankees 4
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