Scott Kazmir outpitches C.C. Sabathia, Evan Longoria homers to help Rays defeat Yankees 6-2

Kazmir, Longoria star in Rays 6-2 win over Yankees

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Scott Kazmir outpitched CC Sabathia to win for the first time in more than two months, and the Tampa Bay Rays slowed down the streaking New York Yankees with a 6-2 victory Tuesday night.

Evan Longoria hit a solo homer and Carl Crawford had an RBI triple off Sabathia (10-7), and the AL East-leading Yankees lost for just the second time in 12 games since the All-Star break.

A subject of speculation with the non-waiver trade deadline approaching on Friday, Kazmir (5-6) responded with his strongest performance of the season to notch his first win May 9, against Boston.

The 25-year-old left-hander took a four-hitter into the eighth inning and retired 10 of 12 batters he faced after giving up a RBI single to Hideki Matsui with one out in the fourth. He left the game after allowing a leadoff single to Nick Swisher in the eighth, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd of 32,304.

Sabathia, 7-1 lifetime against Tampa Bay before Tuesday, allowed six runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings.

Longoria’s homer put Tampa Bay up 4-1 in the fifth. The Rays chased the Yankees ace with two more runs in the sixth on Jason Bartlett’s RBI infield single and B.J. Upton’s bloop double that drove in Bartlett from first.

The victory enabled the third-place Rays to move back within 6½ games of the Yankees in the division. New York’s 11-4 win in the series opener on Monday night had dropped Tampa Bay a season-high 7½ off the pace.

Kazmir, the losing pitcher last Thursday when the Rays were the victim of Mark Buehrle’s perfect game in Chicago, walked one and struck out four in a season-high seven-plus innings. Grant Balfour, Randy Choate and J.P. Howell finished, with Choate allowing a run-scoring double to Matsui in the ninth.

The Rays loaded the bases on a single and two walks before taking a 1-0 lead in the second of Dioner Navarro’s sacrifice fly. Crawford’s RBI triple and a throwing error by Alex Rodriguez produced two more runs to make it 3-0 in the third.

Mark Teixeira doubled and scored on Matsui’s single to trim New York’s deficit to 3-1, however Longoria’s 20th homer restored the three-run lead for Kazmir, whose longest previous outing this year was 6 1-3 innings twice.

Rodriguez and Jorge Posada had the other hits off the Tampa Bay starter.

NOTES: Sabathia fanned Crawford in the fifth inning for his 1,500th career strikeout. … Rays 2B Akinori Iwamura, who had surgery last month to repair a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, fielded ground balls for the first time since being injured in late May. There’s still no timetable for him to begin a rehab assignment. … Yankees LF Johnny Damon retrieved the ball he hit for his 200th career homer Monday night after a fan tossed it back onto the field from the right-field stands. He plans to put it on display at his home, along with the balls he hit for his first and 100th homers. … Yankees LHP Damaso Marte (left shoulder inflammation) allowed three homers and three hits in 1 2-3 innings of a rehab outing at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.