The Yankees entered the weekend series against the Devil Rays riding high from a three-game sweep of the first-place Red Sox.

In the end, it turned out to be a lost weekend for the Bombers.

Andy Pettitte started strong but faltered late, ditto for Edwar Ramirez and the Yanks couldn't solve Josh Hammel and the Tampa pen as the D-Rays slammed New York 8-2 on a sun-soaked day at The Stadium.  The Devil Rays blasted four home runs and took two of three from the Yankees over the weekend.  The loss coupled with a Boston victory lengthened the Red Sox lead in the AL East to six games, but the Mariners continued to stumble so the Yanks remain two games ahead in the wild card race.

The Good:

Melky Cabrera.  Cabrera's RBI-double in the fifth tied the score at 1-1 and gave the Yanks their only high point of the afternoon.  Melky continued to put up solid numbers in day games (he's batting .333 with 5 homers and 23 ribbies in matinees) and pushed his average to the brink of .300 once again.  The Melk-Man finished 2 for 4 with a stolen base and an RBI.

The Bad:

Andy Pettitte.  Pettitte really deserved a better fate on Sunday afternoon.  The veteran lefty started out well, but he stumbled late and gave up a back-breaking three-run homer in the seventh to give the D-Rays a 5-1 lead.  I suppose Pettitte was due for a bad game (even though he pitched better than his final numbers indicate), but it's frustrating when it comes against the Devil Rays.  Pettitte dropped to 12-8 with this: 6.1 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 2 HR, 1 pick off.  Andy also committed his first error of the season.

Edwar Ramirez.  Ramirez came in for Pettitte in the seventh and looked unhittable.  For a time.  Ramirez struck out three of the first four Devil Rays he faced.  Then he came down with an ailment no reliever can afford to contract -- Homerun-itis.  No one knows how it's contracted and there is no cure.  Okay, maybe I'm being a tad dramatic, but the kid gave up two bombs that put the game out of reach.  Ramirez's final tally: 1.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR.

The Ugly:

8-6.  That's the Yankees record against the Devil Rays this season.  Sure, it's a winning mark, but the Yanks should be feasting on a team with a 56-81 record.  Instead, they're just barely keeping themselves above water.  At least, that's the way I see it.

Well, there's no time for moping around as the Yanks welcome in the Seattle Mariners for a huge three-game set starting on Monday afternoon.  The M's limp in riding a nine-game losing streak and have seemingly fallen out of the race in the AL West (they're now seven games back of the Angels).  The Yanks can also knock them out of the wild card chase with a good performance.  A sweep will put the Yanks up by five with 22 to play.  Two out of three would give the Bombers a three game cushion with 22 to play.

Game one will pit Roger Clemens against Felix Hernandez.  King Felix (10-7, 4.08 ERA) was spanked in his last start against the Angles (7 IP, 13 H, 6 R, 2 HR) and lefties are batting a robust .313 against him.  The Rocket is coming off a hard-fought victory over the Red Sox (6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 1 HR).  Roger has also sparkled at home this year -- his ERA in the Bronx is 2.63.

Time to make some headway for a post-season berth.