Yankees edge Pirates in 10 innings

Major League Baseball News

Jun 9, 2007, 3:05 GMT

Bronx, NY - Derek Jeter's infield single scored Robinson Cano for the winning run in the 10th inning, and the Yankees overcame a fielding blunder by Melky Cabrera for a 5-4 win over Pittsburgh.Hideki Matsui hit a two-run homer, as New York won its season-high fourth straight game despite leaving 14 men on base. Jeter, who drove in two runs, was one of five Yankees with a pair of hits.Andy Pettitte allowed nine hits and four runs over eight innings, and Mariano Rivera (2-3) struck out three batters over the final two innings to get the win.'You don't always want to fall behind, but when you do fall behind we feel as if we can come back,' Jeter said. 'We never gave up and fortunately we were able to score some runs late.'Chris Duffy legged out an inside-the-park two-run homer, mostly due to Cabrera's misjudgment in the seventh inning. Xavier Nady added a solo homer for the Pirates, who lost for the seventh time in 10 games.The Yankees won on the eve of the relaunch of the 'Rocket.' Saturday afternoon will mark the return of Roger Clemens to the majors. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner, who signed a prorated $28 million contract on May 6 to begin a second tenure with the Yankees, will take the mound against Paul Maholm in the middle contest of the three-game series. Clemens was initially slated to start Monday against the White Sox, but he developed a fatigued groin during his final minor league outing on Memorial Day for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and an MRI exam revealed disrupted scar tissue.Cano doubled to left field off Matt Capps (3-3) to start the Yankee 10th, and Cabrera followed with a sacrifice bunt. Miguel Cairo singled in the infield when third baseman Jose Bautista failed to get the ball out of his glove. Cairo then took second base on defensive indifference and Johnny Damon was intentionally walked. That set the stage for Jeter, who hit a slow roller. Second baseman Freddy Sanchez charged the ball, but couldn't make a barehanded pick up, ending the game.'It's a tough way to lose it,' Capps said. 'It's frustrating, but that's the way the game is.'Nady led off the second with a homer to right-center field, and it became 2-0 in the fifth when Ryan Doumit, Ronny Paulino and Jack Wilson hit consecutive singles.Matsui tied the game at 2-2 in the sixth with a one-out homer to right field on a first offering from Tom Gorzelanny. The hit scored Jorge Posada, who singled in the previous at-bat.Paulino singled with one out in the seventh, and with two down Duffy drove a ball to center field and over the head of Cabrera, who misjudged the ball. It rolled to the wall, allowing Duffy to circle the bases for Pittsburgh's first inside-the-park homer since Jack Wilson accomplished the feat July 2, 2004, in Game 1 of a doubleheader against Milwaukee.Jeter and Posada singled in runs in the bottom of the inning to forge the 4-4 tie, but the Yankees left the bases loaded. Salomon Torres hit Alex Rodriguez with a pitch to load the bases, and Posada singled to right field to tie the game. Damaso Marte, the fourth pitcher of the inning, struck out Matsui and got Cano to fly out to center field to end the inning.The Pirates put two men on bases with one out in the ninth against Rivera, who escaped the jam by fanning Duffy and getting Bautista to ground out.Game NotesThe Pirates have hit a home run in a season-high eight consecutive games...Pittsburgh's last nine games have all been decided by two runs or less, and the Pirates are 3-6 in those contests...Doug Mientkiewicz was examined by Yankees team physician Dr. Stuart Hershon and will undergo surgery on his right wrist on Tuesday at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser...© 2007 The Sports Network