Originally posted by By FRED GOODALL@ AP Sports Writer
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A pregame meeting didn't help the struggling New York Yankees. The team with baseball's largest payroll dropped its third straight to the low-budget Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6-2 Thursday night, falling into a tie for last place in the AL East.
Mark Hendrickson pitched effectively into the eighth inning, and Alex Sanchez homered and scored four times for the Devil Rays, who won a series against the Yankees for the first time since September 2002 by taking three of four from the seven-time defending division champions.
New York (11-18) has lost seven of its last nine games and four consecutive series to plunge seven games under .500 for the first time since July 18, 1995, when it was 33-40. The Yankees share the AL East cellar with the Devil Rays, who have won four of six meetings between the teams after going 4-15 against New York last season.
Manager Joe Torre held a team meeting before the game, urging his $200 million club to "ignore yesterday" and focus on the present as it tries to fight its way out of its toughest stretch in a decade.
