OPENING DAY Yankees fall flat against Tampa

The Devil Rays roughed up Mike Mussina in a 8-3 win today in Tokyo.
TOKYO (AP) -- On the other side of the world, these New York Yankees looked lost.
Jose Cruz Jr. hit a tying home run that sparked a comeback, Tino Martinez hit his 300th career homer and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays roughed up Mike Mussina in defeating the Yankees 8-3 today.
The team that dominates the AL East couldn't do much in the Far East, giving up 15 hits and playing sluggish in the field.
Alex Rodriguez's first game in pinstripes won't be remembered fondly in the Bronx. A-Rod took called third strikes his first two times up before hitting a double, then popping out. But he did make three outstanding defensive plays at third base.
Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer, Gary Sheffield doubled and Hideki Matsui was 1-for-4 with a double in front of the fans who adore him. But aside from that, the defending American League champions looked quite ordinary.
Poor performance
Giambi's first-inning drive put New York on top early in the second opener played by major league teams in Japan. But Mussina, trying to become the 100th pitcher with 200 wins, twice gave up leads and was knocked out in the sixth.
After Cruz tied it 3-all in the sixth with his homer off the facing of the second deck in right, Martinez, Julio Lugo and Toby Hall hit consecutive doubles for a 5-3 lead, chasing Mussina, who took the loss.
Paul Quantrill got three outs on three pitches to get out of the inning, but left the game after his fourth pitch, when Rodriguez ran into him trying to field Rocco Baldelli's bunt single leading off the seventh.
Felix Heredia then let the game spin away, making a wild pickoff for a two-base error before his first pitch, then allowing a single to Aubrey Huff and a two-run homer to Martinez.
Victor Zambrano got the win for the Devil Rays. He allowed three runs and six hits in six innings.
Atmosphere
The hosts did their best to duplicate the atmosphere of games back home, with some twists, of course.
The Yankees, including Hall of Famers Yogi Berra and Reggie Jackson, were introduced to "New York, New York," while the Devil Rays came out to Anastacia.
Even though New York was the visiting team, the Yankees wore their famous pinstripes -- the Hall of Fame couldn't find any records of them having done that before.
Actor Billy Crystal gave Yankees manager Joe Torre a good-luck telephone call before the game, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi threw out ceremonial first pitches.
When Derek Jeter led off the game, several U.S. servicemen from the New York area played the role of the Yankee Stadium Bleacher Creatures, serenading him from the left-field seats with singsong chants of his name.
Flashbulbs popped whenever Matsui walked to the plate. During 10 seasons in this ballpark with the Yomiuri Giants, he became Japan's biggest baseball attraction.
When he doubled to right-center in the first for the first hit of the major league season, Matsui was given a standing ovation. Giambi, 6-for-17 with two homers against Zambrano coming in, drove him in with a drive into the left-field seats. Just four of Giambi's 41 homers last year were hit to left.
Mussina gave back the lead in the fourth when he walked Cruz and Martinez, and they scored on a broken-bat single into right by Hall.
NEW YORKTAMPA BAY
abrhbiabrhbi
Jeter ss5000Crwfrd lf5000
Matsui lf4110Rolls 3b5020
ARdrgz 3b4110Baldelli cf4110
JaGbi 1b4122Huff dh5121
Shffield rf2021JoCruz rf4211
Posada c4000TMrtnz 1b3332
Sierra dh4000Lugo ss4111
EWilsn 2b4000Hall c4033
Lofton cf3010RSnchz 2b4020
Totals34373Totals388158
New York200001000--3
Tampa Bay00020330x--8
E--Heredia (1). LOB--New York 7, Tampa Bay 9. 2B--Matsui (1), ARodriguez (1), JaGiambi (1), Sheffield (1), Rolls (1), TMartinez (1), Lugo (1), Hall (1). 3B--Lofton (1). HR--JaGiambi (1), JoCruz (1), TMartinez (1). SB--JoCruz (1).
IPHRERBBSO
New York
Mussina L,0-15105522
Quantrill111100
Heredia242211
Tampa Bay
Zambrano W,1-0663314
LCarter210011
DBaez100011
Mussina pitched to 4 batters in the 6th, Quantrill pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Umpires--Home, Joe West; First, Brian Gorman; Second, Jerry Meals; Third, C.B. Bucknor. T--2:45. A--55,000.