Phillies end Yankees' winning streak at 9

[May 23, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Jimmy Rollins sent A.J. Burnett's first pitch of the night deep over the right-field scoreboard. A few innings later, Jayson Werth became the first player to reach the left field second deck at baseball's newest launching pad. In the eighth inning, Mark Teixeria hit the first drive into the suite level.

It was a night of long balls when the top home run-hitting teams in each league faced off.

Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez also homered as the Phillies rolled to a 7-3 victory Friday night in the first interleague game at new Yankee Stadium and ended New York's nine-game winning streak.

Seven homers were hit at the $1.5 billion ballpark, three by the Yankees. Alex Rodriguez hit his sixth since rejoining the team May 8 and with 559 pulled within four of Reggie Jackson for 11th on the career list. Derek Jeter and Teixeira connected in the eighth.

The seven homers raised the Yankee Stadium total to 82, a record for the first 21 games at a major league park, according to the Elias Sports Bureau and five more than were hit at Houston's Enron Field in 2000. There already have been nine games of five or more homers and three of seven or more. Fifty-one of the homers have gone to right field

.

Brett Myers (4-2) allowed three runs and eight hits in eight innings with no walks and five strikeouts as the World Series champions won for the seventh time in eight games.

Burnett (2-2) gave up five runs and eight hits in six innings, tying his career high for homers allowed with three. Chien-Ming Wang, activated before the game after nearly a month on the disabled list, followed with his third career relief appearance and gave up a long homer deep over the Yankees bullpen to Ibanez.

Wang gave up more grounders than in April but still allowed two runs in three innings, lowering his ERA from 34.50 to 25.00.

Rollins began the game with his 29th home run leading off the first inning, and Ruiz's first homer since Game 3 of last October's World Series made it 3-0 in the second. Werth hit another two-run drive in the fifth for a 5-0 lead.

It was 80 degrees at game time and AccuWeather.com predicted a home-run festival on the first warm, humid night of the season at Yankee Stadium, saying the number of longballs thus far was surprising.

"In respect to the temperature and humidity, and the laws of baseball flight, the number of home runs should be down," senior meteorologist Henry Margusity said in a statement. "We can only conclude from the weather data that the number of home runs should only go up this summer. AccuWeather.com is already predicting higher-than-normal humidity in the New York City area this summer, which means the home run derby should continue at Yankee Stadium."

Burnett hit Philadelphia's second batter, Chase Utley, on a shoulder with a pitch. Myers threw his second pitch behind Jeter, prompting plate umpire Mike Winters to warn both dugouts.

New York, a major league-best 123-87 in interleague play coming in, had a chance to tie the score in the first when Rodriguez doubled with Johnny Damon on first, A-Rod's first hit this year other than a home run or a single. Damon was thrown out at the plate on Rollins' relay from Ibanez in left.

Notes:@ The Metro-North commuter rail station at Yankee Stadium opens Saturday. The team announced intentions for the station when plans for the original Yankee Stadium were released on Feb. 5, 1921. ... An entire row of $2,500 first-row seats behind the Yankees dugout was vacant in the first two innings and only four of the seven party suites in right field were in use. New York gave free tickets in the $850 and $500 sections of the Legends Suite near the field to sailors in town for Fleet Week.

[Associated Press; By RONALD BLUM]

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