Rapid Reaction: Yankees 5, Rays 4

July, 9, 2011
7/09/11
4:19
PM ET

Recap | Box score | Photos

What it means: That even when you think you've already seen the best a player can offer, a player like Derek Jeter can still leave you awestruck. Jeter could not have accomplished his long-awaited feat in any better fashion than he did at Yankee Stadium today, responding to the pressure and urgency and rising to the occasion with his best game not only of this year, but in several years.

What's good: Jeter, Jeter, Jeter, Jeter, Jeter. Needing two hits to get to 3,000, Jeter comes up with five, count 'em, five, including a monster home run off David Price for No. 3,000 in the third inning and, more importantly, an eighth-inning single through a drawn-in infield to knock in the go-ahead run. A dream day for any player. And Mariano Rivera, sidelined for a week with soreness in his right triceps, survived a scare when Kelly Shoppach drove one to the center field wall, but pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the save.

What's not so good: A.J. Burnett, whose initials stand for Anti-Jeter, was the buzzkill on an otherwise glorious day, needing mere minutes to silence the ballpark and give back the lead after Jeter's HR and Russell Martin's RBI single put the Yankees ahead 2-1. Burnett surrendered a two-run HR to B.J. Upton and even though he had great stuff (9 K's in 5 2/3 innings), Joe Girardi got him out at the first sign of trouble in the sixth.

What's coming from us: Ian O'Connor, Rob Parker, Andrew Marchand, Mike Mazzeo, Matt Ehalt and myself will have this historic day covered from every possible angle.

What's next: Last game before the All-Star break matches CC Sabathia (12-4, 2.90) and RHP James Shields (8-6, 2.47), first pitch is 1:05 p.m.
Wallace Matthews has covered New York sports since 1983 as a reporter, columnist, radio host and TV commentator. He covers the Yankees for ESPNNewYork.com after working for Newsday, the New York Post, the New York Sun and ESPN New York 98.7 FM.
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TEAM LEADERS

WINS LEADER
Hiroki Kuroda
WINS ERA SO IP
6 1.99 39 58
OTHER LEADERS
BAR. Cano .295
HRR. Cano 12
RBIR. Cano 31
RR. Cano 25
OPSR. Cano .899
ERAH. Kuroda 1.99
SOC. Sabathia 54

NEW YORK CALENDAR

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