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Oh Mo! Mariano Rivera Gets Rocked By Rays

RAYS 8
YANKEES 6

Last week was the Met fans chance to jump off the bridge; now it's the Yankee fans turn.

The Yankees are suddenly immersed in a huge team-wide slump. Not only have the Yankees lost five in a row, they have done so against crucial division rivals and at home no less. Maybe the new Yankee Stadium lacks that special magic that the old House used to have.

Either way, the Yankees are in big trouble right now.

Tonight, the Yankees couldn't figure out Evan Longoria. Forget about the New York debate about David Wright and Alex Rodriguez, Longoria might be the best third baseman in all of baseball. Longoria had two homers on the night to give him 10 on the year along with 38 RBI's, and it is only May 7!!

Things looked pretty bad early in this one when Jason Bartlett led off the game with a solo home run off Andy Pettitte. Moments later, Carlos Pena blasted a solo shot of his own to right to give the Rays a sudden 2-0 lead. Fast forward to the third, and it was Longoria who connected on his first of the night, this one a two run job that he pulled toward the short porch in right to give Tampa a 4-0 lead.

The Yankees did rally back. If nothing else, the Yankees do have heart; they fight back with the best of their ability every single night. Jose Molina's double in the fourth brought in Melky Cabrera to cut the deficit to 4-1. Later, Johnny Damon's two run double cut the Rays lead to just 4-3. The Yankees tied the game in the fifth, thanks to Hideki Matsui's third homer of the year.

But, the Yankee pitching staff just couldn't handle the tie, coughing it up. Brian Zobrist's solo home run in the sixth off of Pettitte gave Tampa a 5-4 lead, and Pat Burrell's RBI single off of Jose Veras in the seventh extended the Rays lead to 6-4.

Still the Yankees had a hero. His name was Johnny Damon. Damon's two run home run off former Met Dan Wheeler tied the game at six. Could the old Yankee magic be making its move to the new stadium finally? Um...no! Box Score.

'Ole reliable Mariano Rivera was anything but reliable; he surrendered a shocking two run home run to Longoria to give Tampa Bay a 8-6 lead. The Yankees went away quietly in the bottom of the ninth and that was that. Good night and drive home safely.

The Yankees are now in fourth place, behind a red hot Toronto Blue Jay team, and fantastic Boston Red Sox team, and a battled-tested Tampa Bay Rays team. Are the Yankees too old to compete with these teams? Are the Yankees heading for years of futility? No one knows; it is still too early to panic, but the Yankees must get better pitching and situational hitting if they are to even sniff these other ball clubs. They have their work cut out for them.

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