Big week for AL-best Yankees: Fun in Fenway, then back to Bronx to face Mets in subway series

Fun in Fenway for Yanks, then home to face Mets

NEW YORK — After another winning night of home run derby, the Yankees headed to Boston for some fun at Fenway. Then it’s back home for the first Subway Series against the Mets at the new bandbox in the Bronx.

Despite going 0-5 against the Red Sox this year, the Yankees went north following Monday night’s 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays with a one-game AL East lead and the best record in the American League. Now they have to figure out how to beat Boston.

“Obviously we would like to get payback and say all that good stuff, but we have to go out and play well,” Johnny Damon said.

Mark Teixeira, Nick Swisher, Damon and Derek Jeter homered against Andy Sonnanstine (4-6), who gave up four homers for the first time in his big league career and dropped to 1-6 on the road.

New York has won 19 of its last 25 games, improving to 34-23 after its usual slow start.

“Obviously, we’re playing a lot better,” Jeter said. “We don’t really take too much stock in what happened however long ago we played them.”

When the Yankees played at Fenway from April 24-26 and faced the Red Sox at home May 4-5, they were missing Alex Rodriguez.

“When Alex was out of the lineup, we were still scoring some runs. We were falling behind teams and coming back. We just weren’t pitching as good as we are now,” Jeter said. “Our starters have been good. Our bullpen has been good, and Mo has been Mo.”

Mariano Rivera finished with a perfect ninth for the second straight day, getting save No. 496, his 14th in 15 chances this year. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Rivera, who rebounded from Saturday’s loss, might not be available Tuesday after pitching three days in a row and throwing 42 pitches. But his closer said he’d be ready,

“Oh, definitely, we need to win a game there,” he said.

Teixeira’s solo homer in the first and Swisher’s two-run drive in the second built a 3-0 lead, but the Rays tied the score in the fourth when Rodriguez bobbled Ben Zobrist’s leadoff grounder to third for an error. Michel Hernandez had an RBI single and Gabe Kapler followed with a two-run homer to left, Kapler’s first home run since Sept. 7 for Milwaukee off San Diego’s Chris Young.

Solo homers by Damon in the sixth and Jeter in the eighth finished Sonnanstine.

“I just think we didn’t hit enough balls to right-center. There’s a conveyor-belt effect out there,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s kind of like a jet stream.”

There have been 105 homers in 29 games at the new ballpark, a sharp increase from the 160 last season at the original Yankee Stadium, and 63 have been hit to right and right-center. New York won despite finishing with just six hits — and no plate appearances with runners in scoring position for the first time since May 14, 2006.

Andy Pettitte (6-2) allowed three runs — two earned — and five hits in six innings, striking out a season-high seven. After walking 11 in his previous two starts, he cut his bases on balls to three.

“I probably felt as strong as I’ve felt all year starting the game out,” he said.

All-Star third baseman Evan Longoria returned to the Rays’ starting lineup after missing nearly a week with an injured left hamstring and went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts and a walk. Since injuring the leg while running out a grounder last Tuesday, Longoria had been limited to a pair of pinch-hitting appearances against the Yankees.

“He came in. He was adamant. He felt ready to go today, so we threw him out there,” Maddon said.