Aubrey Huff homered twice and drove in three runs Sunday, leading the Tampa Bay Devil Rays over the New York Yankees 7-6.
Victor Zambrano (5-4) beat the defending AL champions for the third time this season, ending New York's six-game winning streak. He limited the Yankees to a pair of single by Hideki Matsui until Enrique Wilson singled with one out in the seventh to give the Yankees runners at first and second.
Not wanting to give New York a chance to cut into a six-run deficit, manager Lou Piniella immediately turned to a bullpen that performed well for the Devil Rays during a 12-game homestand that ended Sunday.
Jorge Sosa stuck out Derek Jeter and got Bernie Williams to fly out. But Tampa Bay lost the shutout bid in the eighth when Alex Rodriguez singled, stole second and scored on Matsui's third hit.
Tony Clark's RBI single off Sosa cut the lead to 6-2, and the Yankees added two more runs in the eighth on Jeter's infield single and Geoff Blum's throwing error, pulling to 6-4.
Brook Fordyce's solo homer off Tanyon Sturtze in the bottom of the eighth made it 7-5, and Devil Rays closer Danys Baez returned to the mound for the ninth to earn his eighth save in eight opportunities.
Gary Sheffield singled and Ruben Sierra doubled off Baez before Clark hit a two-run single. Jorge Posada then struck out, ending the game.
Huff, who's emerging from a season-long slump, hit solo homers off Jon Lieber (4-2) in the fourth and fifth innings. He added a RBI single off Gabe White in the sixth for a 6-0 lead and finished 3-for-4.
The young Tampa Bay slugger has gone 29-for-80 in his last 20 games to raise his average to a season-high .264 with seven homers and 26 RBIs. He hit .311 with 34 homers and 107 RBIs last year.
Zambrano allowed three hits, walked three and struck out seven in 6 1-3 innings.
Lieber, meanwhile, gave up six runs and 11 hits in five-plus innings his shortest outing this season.
Victor Zambrano (5-4) beat the defending AL champions for the third time this season, ending New York's six-game winning streak. He limited the Yankees to a pair of single by Hideki Matsui until Enrique Wilson singled with one out in the seventh to give the Yankees runners at first and second.
Not wanting to give New York a chance to cut into a six-run deficit, manager Lou Piniella immediately turned to a bullpen that performed well for the Devil Rays during a 12-game homestand that ended Sunday.
Jorge Sosa stuck out Derek Jeter and got Bernie Williams to fly out. But Tampa Bay lost the shutout bid in the eighth when Alex Rodriguez singled, stole second and scored on Matsui's third hit.
Tony Clark's RBI single off Sosa cut the lead to 6-2, and the Yankees added two more runs in the eighth on Jeter's infield single and Geoff Blum's throwing error, pulling to 6-4.
Brook Fordyce's solo homer off Tanyon Sturtze in the bottom of the eighth made it 7-5, and Devil Rays closer Danys Baez returned to the mound for the ninth to earn his eighth save in eight opportunities.
Gary Sheffield singled and Ruben Sierra doubled off Baez before Clark hit a two-run single. Jorge Posada then struck out, ending the game.
Huff, who's emerging from a season-long slump, hit solo homers off Jon Lieber (4-2) in the fourth and fifth innings. He added a RBI single off Gabe White in the sixth for a 6-0 lead and finished 3-for-4.
The young Tampa Bay slugger has gone 29-for-80 in his last 20 games to raise his average to a season-high .264 with seven homers and 26 RBIs. He hit .311 with 34 homers and 107 RBIs last year.
Zambrano allowed three hits, walked three and struck out seven in 6 1-3 innings.
Lieber, meanwhile, gave up six runs and 11 hits in five-plus innings his shortest outing this season.
