Jeter secures winning trip for Yanks

Jeter secures winning trip for Yanks

Go-ahead hit in ninth sends club home with series victory

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Yankees ended their season-opening nine-game road trip with a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday at Tropicana Field.

New York finished its trip with successive series victories at Kansas City and against the defending American League champions.

Derek Jeter's ninth-inning single scored Cody Ransom with the go-ahead run. Ransom had doubled with one out against Rays closer Troy Percival.

The Rays grabbed the lead in the third inning on successive doubles to right-center field by B.J. Upton and Carl Crawford off Yankees starter Andy Pettitte. Upton's hit scored No. 9 batter Akinori Iwamura, who had singled off Pettitte with two outs.

Pettitte retired the first six Rays batters before Gabe Kapler led off the third with a double. Kapler was thrown out by Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira as he tried to advance to third on a groundout by Rays catcher Michel Hernandez.

New York tied the game in the fourth against Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine. Right fielder Nick Swisher led off the inning with a single, and Robinson Cano followed one out later with his second home run of the season.

Tampa Bay took a 3-2 lead on Carlos Pena's fourth home run of the season, which came on a 2-2 pitch from Pettitte to lead off the fourth.

The Yankees tied it again in the eighth on back-to-back doubles by Jeter and Johnny Damon.

After going 5-4 in 10 days on the road, the Yankees will officially open their new stadium on Thursday against the Indians.