AMERICAN LEAGUE Matsui helps Yanks win

He and Jorge Posada led New York to a 12-1 win over Tampa Bay in Japan.
TOKYO (AP) -- Hideki Matsui came through for his fans, and so did the New York Yankees.
Matsui rocked the Tokyo Dome with a two-run homer, Jorge Posada hit three-run shots from both sides of the plate and the Yankees calmed their jittery supporters back home by routing the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 12-1 today.
Kevin Brown got his 198th career victory in his first start for the Yankees, allowing six hits over seven innings. Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera finished with hitless relief.
Tony Clark, playing first base because of Jason Giambi's cranky knee, hit a tie-breaking two-run homer for the Yankees.
A-Rod goes hitless
It was another quiet game for Alex Rodriguez, who went 0-for-5 and is now 1-for-9 with no RBIs. And Derek Jeter finally got his first hit, an RBI single, after going hitless in his first seven at-bats.
But the night -- if not the whole week -- belonged to Matsui. Playing his last game in Japan before heading back to the United States, he repeatedly was greeted by flashbulb-popping fans thrilled to see him in person.
He rewarded them with two big hits. After Aubrey Huff's RBI single in the first put the Devil Rays ahead, Matsui tied it in the fourth with a run-scoring single off loser Jeremi Gonzalez.
Rare standing ovation
Clark's homer in the fourth put New York ahead 3-1. In the fifth, Matsui teed off on a belt-high pitch, sending it deep into the seats in right-center. Japanese fans gave him a standing ovation, a rarity in this country.
He had another chance to come up big in the seventh when he batted with the bases loaded, but Matsui struck out against Trever Miller.
Posada homered right-handed off Damian Moss in the fifth, and left-handed against Jorge Sosa in the seventh. It was the fifth time he homered from both sides in the same game, the first since June 28, 2002, against the New York Mets.
Brown, the 39-year-old right-hander acquired from Los Angeles in December, struck out five and walked none. His turning point came in the fourth, when he gave up a leadoff single to Jose Cruz Jr. and went to a 3-0 count on Tino Martinez. Brown came back to strike out Martinez as Cruz was caught trying to steal second.
NEW YORKTAMPA BAY
abrhbiabrhbi
Jeter ss3111Crwfrd lf4110
Matsui lf5123Rolls 3b4000
ARdrgz 3b5000Baldelli cf4000
JaGbi dh1200Huff dh4011
Crosby dh0000JoCruz rf3010
Shffield rf3310Frdyce c1000
Posada c5226TMrtnz 1b3000
TClark 1b4212Lugo ss3000
EWilsn 2b5020Gipson ss0000
Lofton cf4120Hall c2020
Blum 3b1000
RSnchz 2b2010
Fick rf1000
Totals35121112Totals32161
New York001250400--12
Tampa Bay100000000--1
E--Hall (1). DP--New York 1, Tampa Bay 3. LOB--New York 6, Tampa Bay 4. 2B--Hall (2). HR--Matsui (1), Posada 2 (2), TClark (1). SB--Lofton (1), Crawford (1). CS--JoCruz (1).
IPHRERBBSO
New York
KBrown W,1-0761105
Gordon100000
MRivera100002
Tampa Bay
JeGonzalez L,0-14 2-345541
Moss2-323311
JoSosa124420
TreMiller1-330001
Gaudin1-300000
Halama200011
HBP--by Moss (JaGiambi), by JeGonzalez (Jeter). WP--JeGonzalez. Umpires--Home, Brian Gorman; First, Jerry Meals; Second, C.B. Bucknor; Third, Joe West. T--2:45. A--55,000.