A-Rod Blast Helps Yanks Roll Over Rays

St. Petersburg, FL (AHN) - If the New York Yankees fail to make the playoffs, it won't be due to Alex Rodriguez' play of late.

The slugger, maligned at times for poor clutch-hitting, collected three hits and four RBI in leading the New York Yankees to an 8-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday.

Rodriguez ripped a run-scoring single and RBI double in the third and fourth innings and capped his night with his 31st home run of the season, the 549th of his career.

A-Rod also made history by having the first home run reviewed by baseball new video replay system.

Crew chief Charlie Reliford opted to have a video replay ump look at the homer to ensure it was fair, and the ruling came in just over two minutes to uphold the call.

Bobby Abreu also had a big game for the Yanks, ripping his 36th double of the season, scoring two runs and swiping a pair of bases.

Carl Pavano had his first ineffective outing in three starts for the Yanks, allowing three runs over four innings but four relievers combined to allow just one run the rest of the way.

Edwar Ramirez improved to 5-1 with the win, tossing a scoreless fifth frame.

Gabe Gross smacked a home run and drove in a pair for the Rays, who dropped their second straight to the Yankees.

The Rays saw their AL East lead shrink to three games over the victorious Red Sox, while the Yanks are 10 games behind.