Yankees Are Back in First

The New York Yankees were headed up the tunnel from the dugout to their clubhouse after Randy Johnson, Mariano Rivera and Matt Lawton combined with some great defense to beat the Baltimore Orioles, 2-1, Wednesday night.

That’s when Manager Joe Torre heard the Yankee Stadium crowd roar.

The scoreboard flashed that Tampa Bay had taken an eighth-inning lead against Boston. For only the third night this year, the Yankees went to bed with sole possession of the American League East lead.

“I thought Randy went back out there for a curtain call,” catcher John Flaherty said.

Johnson (15-8) limited the Orioles to three hits over eight innings in his first start since a second-inning ejection last week, and Lawton broke out of a long slump with a two-run homer in the second inning off Rodrigo Lopez (14-11).

New York’s victory and the 7-4 loss by Boston put the Yankees (88-63) half a game ahead of the Red Sox (88-64). The only other times this year that New York led the division were after an opening-night win over the Red Sox and after a July 18 victory at Texas.

“First place only counts on that last Sunday,” Torre said after the win, New York’s ninth in 10 games.

The Yankees, a season-high 25 games over .500, were nine games out of first in early May after an 11-19 start and trailed by four games after losing to Boston on Sept. 10. Seeking their eighth straight AL East title, they now lead with 11 games to go.

“We got to where we want to be, but it doesn’t change the focus of this team at all,” Flaherty said. “This is going to be a grind all the way out.”

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Tampa Bay 7, Boston 4 -- The Devil Rays rallied for five runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Red Sox at St. Petersburg, Fla.

Jorge Cantu chased Boston starter Tim Wakefield with a two-out RBI single, and Jonny Gomes’ two-run triple off Mike Timlin (7-3) put the last-place Devil Rays ahead 5-4. Eric Munson followed with an RBI double and Alex Gonzalez had an RBI single to ensure Boston’s 64-day stay atop the AL East would end.

Manny Ramirez homered for the third time in two games for Boston.

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Cleveland 8, Chicago 0 -- Scott Elarton pitched five-hit ball into the eighth inning and Travis Hafner homered twice at Chicago, helping the Indians move 2 1/2 games behind the White Sox in the AL Central.

Hafner, who has homered in four straight games, hit a long three-run shot to center off Jon Garland (17-10) in the eighth. He had a two-run shot off Jeff Bajenaru in the ninth, giving him a career-high 30 and 100 RBIs.

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Seattle 3, Toronto 2 -- Rookie phenom Felix Hernandez took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning to lead the Mariners at Toronto.

Hernandez, 19, cruised into the seventh until Corey Koskie hit a one-out liner to the left side. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt jumped and had a chance to make a backhand catch, but the ball glanced off his glove.

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Kansas City 4, Detroit 3 -- Pinch-hitter Denny Hocking’s two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning at Kansas City, Mo., gave the Royals their first four-game sweep in six years.