Rasner does it again for Yankees

Darrell Rasner continues to be "terrific" for the New York Yankees.

The 1999 Carson High graduate, pitched four shutout innings to pick up the win for the Yankees in their 7-4 victory against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Thursday at Yankee Stadium.

Rasner helped the Yankees inch closer to clinching the division title as New York finished off a three-game sweep of the Devl Rays.

Robinson Cano drove in three runs, including the tying and winning runs. Cano, batting in the No. 3 spot for the first time in his career, collected eight RBIs in the past two games, helping the Yanks move to 33 games over .500.

Hideki Matsui homered for the first time since May 7, while Derek Jeter (2-for-4, RBI, 23-game hitting streak) and Alex Rodriguez (two RBIs) also contributed offensively. The win extended the Yankees' winning streak to a season-high six games. The Yankees' magic number to clinch their ninth consecutive American League East title dropped to six, meaning that they can clinch this weekend by taking three of four from the Red Sox.

Rookie Jeff Karstens, starting on about two hours' notice after Joe Torre decided to push Chien-Ming Wang back to Friday because of potential weather problems, gave up four runs over five innings.

"Karstens couldn't get the ball down," Torre said. "Of course, we didn't give him the ball until a couple of hours before the game, which could have had something to do with it."

Rasner (2-0) tossed four scoreless innings of relief to close out the game and earn the win. In three appearances this season for the Yankees, Rasner has allowed just one run in 11.2 innings for a 0.77 earned run average.

"Rasner was terrific," Torre said. "He threw a lot of strikes. That was like a training film as far as getting ahead of hitters."

The Yankees were able to win without using any of their regular relievers, giving them a fresh bullpen for the four-game, three-day weekend series against the Red Sox.

"It was important, especially with the doubleheader Saturday," Torre said. "You don't want to repeat guys in the first and second games, so not having to use them today helps."

New York was also able to rest Johnny Damon and Bobby Abreu, as Torre scratched them from the lineup because of the potential for inclement weather.

The Yankees battled back in the bottom of the fifth, getting an RBI single by Jeter and a two-run double by Cano to tie the game. Cano's hit actually glanced off Carl Crawford's glove, but the left fielder couldn't come up with the ball, tying the game at 4.

New York rallied in the seventh, getting one-out singles by Kevin Thompson and Bernie Williams to put runners on the corners. Jeter struck out, but Cano delivered an RBI double, giving the Yankees a 5-4 lead. Rodriguez singled in two more runs, boosting the lead to three.

The one stain on the game for the Yankees came in the seventh, when Jorge Posada was hit in the left elbow while trying to check his swing. He tried to shake off the pain but couldn't, so Melky Cabrera completed the at-bat.

Posada was diagnosed with a bruised left elbow, and is listed as day-to-day. If the elbow is still bothering him on Friday, he will be sent for tests.

With a three-run lead in the ninth, Torre decided to stay with Rasner, who had retired nine of the 10 batters he had faced, striking five of them out. The rookie responded with a quick 1-2-3 inning, closing out the win.

"It's always good to come out and throw strikes like that. That certainly gets things going in the right direction," Rasner said. "The opportunity to pitch in Yankee Stadium; it doesn't get better than that. I'm just honored to get the opportunity."