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 AL Recap (Tampa Bay-NY Yankees) Posted: Thur July 22, 1999 at 4:28 p.m. EDT NY YANKEES 5, TAMPA BAY 4BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- In the 15,000th game in franchise history, the New York Yankees got a win from a lefthanded starter and a home run from their star center fielder. Andy Pettitte lasted six-plus innings and Bernie Williams hit a two-run homer as the Yankees held on for a 5-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Yankees now are 8,451-6,463. The wins and losses add up to 14,914 games and there were 83 ties, plus three protests that were overturned by the league. The results and standings did not count for those other 86 games, but the statistics did. The Yankees are 16-1 all-time against the Devil Rays and have won all eight of their home games from the second-year franchise. Pettitte (7-7), who suffered the Yankees' only all-time loss to Tampa Bay last September 16, narrowly was good enough to get the win. He gave up four runs and six hits with four walks and four strikeouts in his second straight win. "Every game is a little of a learning process," said Pettitte, who has won back-to-back starts for just the second time this season. "More than anything, it is confidence. I just have to put everything together." "I think he has been a little better in the strike zone the last few starts," Yankees manager Joe Torre said of Pettitte. "He has been more consistent. The only bad part for me today was the seventh inning. I don't think he feels any pressure or loses any confidence from one start to another." This was expected to be just the 15th game in the American League this season that featured two lefthanded starters. But Tampa Bay's Wilson Alvarez was scratched with tightness in his left triceps after warming up. Instead, Rick White made his first start of the season and gave up two runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings as the Devil Rays lost for the seventh time in nine games. Tampa Bay suffered its 33rd one-run loss, the highest total in the American League. "He threw on the side and felt pretty good," Tampa Bay manager Larry Rothschild said of Alvarez. "It was just one of those things." Bryan Rekar (6-6), the third of four Devil Rays pitchers, gave up three runs in 2 2/3 innings. "I thought we played a pretty good ballgame," Rothschild said. "The first two innings we made one great defensive play after the other. We played hard and good, but just got beat. We didn't want to go through the pen like we had to. Bryan came in and did a good job and Norm (Charlton) came in and threw the ball well." White described the events leading up to his start. "We were getting ready to walk out and as soon as I got out the door, they told me to get to the bullpen," he said. "It was either me or Rekar. The first few innings, I didn't have a breaking ball I could throw for strikes and against these guys ... I just tried to save the bullpen." Tampa Bay threatened to take the lead in the seventh after scoring twice. Terrell Lowery and Aaron Ledesma walked to chase Pettitte for Mike Stanton, who got DiFelice to fly out. Miguel Cairo followed with a run-scoring single, Martinez hit into a forceout and Smith stroked an RBI single to make it 5-4. Stanton threw a wild pitch and then walked McGriff to load the bases. Ramiro Mendoza came on and Paul Sorrento hit for Trammell, but looked at a called third strike on a full count as New York preserved the lead. After a 1-2-3 eighth, Mariano Rivera posted his third save in as many days and his 26th in 30 chances. Tampa Bay started the game with a rally but Pettitte got out of it trailing by only a run. Dave Martinez doubled with one out and scored one out later on Fred McGriff's double. Bubba Trammell walked, but Rich Butler struck out. Chuck Knoblauch started the bottom of the frame with a single and Williams hit his 15th homer two outs later for a 2-1 lead. "It was a faststment." McGriff tied it with a solo shot, his 21st, in the fourth but the Yankees grabbed the lead for good in the fifth when Derek Jeter walked with one out, went to second on a passed ball by Mike DiFelice and scored on Paul O'Neill's ground-rule double. "He (McGriff) is a lefty and I feel like I should be able to handle him," Pettitte said. "I just made two mistakes. I was trying to go in for a strike and he hit it out on me." With one out in the sixth, Scott Brosius walked, went to second on a single by Chad Curtis and scored on a base hit by Joe Girardi. With runners on the corners, Knoblauch hit into a forceout that scored the fifth run.
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