ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - New York went ahead with help from a key Tampa Bay error, Russell Martin homered and had three RBIs, and the Yankees regained sole possession of first-place in the AL East with a 6-4 win over the Rays on Wednesday night.
Eliot Johnson's errant throw to home plate that led to two runs in the seventh inning helped New York win for just the fifth time in 15 games.
New York sat atop the division standings by itself for 84 consecutive days - its longest streak since 2004 - until Tuesday night's 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay dropped the Yankees into a tie with Baltimore. They moved back into first place when the Orioles lost to Toronto 6-4. New York leads the Rays by 2 1-2 games.
Andruw Jones and Steve Pearce singled to start the seventh off Matt Moore (10-9) before Jayson Nix moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Derek Jeter, who had hits in his previous three at-bats, hit a grounder to Johnson. With the infield playing in, the second baseman's throw was off the mark allowing pinch-runner Ichiro Suzuki and Pearce to score as the Yankees took a 6-4 lead.
