And while the Yankees have made waiting until the latter stages of games worth their fans’ while for several weeks, Saturday turned out to be the exception in that regard, too.

The Yanks appeared primed for another cream-pie comeback by scoring twice to tie in the eighth inning, but Mariano Rivera coughed up four runs on three hits – and was pulled from the game in the ninth – in an ugly 9-7 loss to the Rays at the Stadium.

For good measure, the Yanks then fell short of another cardiac bid in the bottom half. They scored twice against reliever Dan Wheeler on Mark Teixeira’s two-run double – and had three cracks with the tying run at the plate – before the rally stalled with lefty Yankee castoff Randy Choate retiring Robinson Cano for the final out.

Sabathia lasted at least eight innings for the fifth time in eight starts, but homers in the middle innings by Ben Zobrist and Willy Aybar had Tampa ahead, 5-3, entering the home eighth. But Teixeira belted a leadoff homer off reliever Grant Balfour, his 17th, to tie Tampa’s Carlos Pena for the AL lead. The Yanks proceeded to load the bases on two walks sandwiched around Cano’s single, before late-inning hero Melky Cabrera barely legged out a potential double-play ball for a 5-5 tie.

But Rivera (0-2, 3.47) was immediately tagged for a leadoff triple by Zobrist and RBI singles by Joe Dillon and B.J. Upton – before Joe Girardi replaced him with Phil Coke – as the Yanks (32-23) suffered just their sixth loss in 23 games. Coke allowed another run-scoring single by Carl Crawford and Alex Rodriguez booted Aybar’s grounder for an error for a 9-5 Tampa lead.

Price, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 entry draft out of Vanderbilt, was charged with three runs (one earned) on just two hits and five walks over 5 2/3 innings.

He had made his anticipated big-league debut Sept. 14 of last season with 5 1/3 strong innings of relief against at the old Yankee Stadium. The 6-foot-6 lefty then emerged as a rising star out of the bullpen during the 2008 postseason, closing out Boston in Game 7 of the ALCS and then the Phillies in Game 2 of the World Series.

Still, the Rays stashed Price in the minors to start this season, limiting him to no more than five innings in any of his eight starts for Triple-A Durham. He was recalled on May 25 and posted his first regular-season win last Saturday with 11 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings against the Twins.

Mariano Rivera rocked by Rays as Yankees lose ugly one at Stadium

Randy Johnson’s bid for 300 wins was postponed Wednesday night after a series of thunderstorms left the field at Nationals Park unplayable for Johnson’s San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals.

At 10:47 p.m. EDT — more than 3 1/2 hours after the scheduled 7:05 p.m. first pitch — Nationals president Stan Kasten announced that the game had been called and would be made up as part of a doubleheader, starting at 4:35 p.m. on Thursday.

“The field is not playable, and that’s the reason we can’t play,” Kasten said after sloshing through masses of standing water in the outfield with the umpires. “We really tried. We were all trying to get it done, but at the end of the night, it’s not worth the risk to our players.”

Johnson will pitch the first game of the doubleheader against Nationals rookie Jordan Zimmermann, the same matchup that had been scheduled for Wednesday night. San Francisco’s Matt Cain will face Ross Detwiler in Game 2.

Because of two Giants off days, Johnson will be pitching on seven days of rest since winning No. 299 last week against the Atlanta Braves. He left the ballpark without speaking to reporters.

“You look at his career, and he’s been through everything,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. “Randy’s fine. I’m sure he’s anxious to pitch, not just because it’s 300.”

The weather was ominous from mid-afternoon, when the tarp was placed on the field before batting practice. It was removed during a break in the storms around 8 p.m., but it was soon put back on when weather radar accurately predicted the imminent arrival of another line of lightning, thunder and rain so dense that the Capitol dome was no longer visible from the upper deck.

Still, Kasten consulted with Giants president Larry Baer and announced at 10 p.m.: “We are going to play this game” — in part because of the history at stake. They had to recant less than an hour later.

“For a player going for a milestone, you want something more optimal,” Baer said. “We can recapture that feeling tomorrow. Under no circumstances do you want to get someone hurt.”

Johnson is attempting to become the 24th pitcher to win 300 games. Before the storms hit, discussions centered on whether the 45-year-old lefty will be the last. Pitch counts, quick hooks and an overall abundance of caution with pitchers have made consistent big-win seasons a rarity.

“He’s going after a tremendous accomplishment that probably we’ll never see again,” Washington manager Manny Acta said. “It’s becoming tougher and tougher.”

Only four pitchers have averaged at least 15 wins over the last six full seasons, and the career leader among those four — Roy Halladay — has only 140 wins at age 32, putting him about a decade away from 300 at his present pace. The only contenders above 200 wins are 46-year-old Jamie Moyer (250), 36-year-old Andy Pettitte (220), 37-year-old Pedro Martinez (214) and 42-year-old John Smoltz (210).

“I think we’ll see it again. It’ll be a while,” Bochy said. “Of course, there’s Moyer. He can pitch until he’s 50, I guess. The way bullpens have evolved in baseball, it makes it more difficult for these starters to get the decisions. They’re not in there when the game’s decided. Randy, if you look at his decisions, and the guys who have won 300, that’s one common denominator that they have. That’s why it’s going to be a lot more difficult.”

Storms postpone Randy Johnson’s bid for 300th win

A.J. Pierzynksi homered and Scott Podsednik scored two runs for the White Sox, who won for the fourth straight time and have won 10 of its last 13 overall.

Oakland reliever Craig Breslow (1-4) allowed a leadoff walk to Scott Podsednik in the eighth inning. After Alexei Ramirez popped up a bunt attempt, Jermaine Dye singled off Santiago Casilla. On a 1-2 pitch, Thome hit an opposite field home run to left-center to put the White Sox up 5-2.

Thome is 13th on the career homers list and has nine this season.

Matt Thornton (3-1) struck out the side in the eighth.

Matt Holliday hit a two-run homer in the first for the Athletics, who have lost five of its last six games and have the worst record in the American League.

Holliday’s seventh homer of the season was off White Sox starter Gavin Floyd.

In the bottom of the inning, Podsednik scored on Dye’s sacrifice fly. Oakland starter Trevor Cahill escaped further damage when Holliday timed his jump perfectly at the fence to rob Paul Konerko of what appeared to be a two-run homer.

Pierzynski tied the game with a solo shot in the fifth off Cahill.

Cahill worked 5 2-3 innings, allowing two runs on three hits. He had three strikeouts and two walks.

Floyd, who was originally scheduled to start Tuesday was pushed up to start Monday so Chicago can give Bartolo Colon an extra day’s rest. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen decided to give Colon an extra day because of past injuries in his career. The right-hander was limited last season because of bone chips in his right elbow. He is scheduled to start Tuesday against the A’s.

Floyd rebounded after the rough first inning, he allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked three.

Notes: RHP Vin Mazzaro will make his major league debut Tuesday night. The A’s said Monday they will call up Mazzaro to start the second game of their series against the White Sox. The 22-year-old Mazzaro, a third-round pick in the 2005 draft, was 2-2 with a 2.38 ERA for Triple-A Sacramento. … Before the game, White Sox GM Ken Williams shot down rumors of trade talks between the White Sox and the Astros regarding RHP Roy Oswalt. "I really try not to get into confirming or denying something because when you start down that road, you set patterns that kind of tip your hand. Whenever you tip your hand, you don’t really get anything done. So I’ll make the exception so that everyone can kind of relax a little bit. I haven’t talked to the Houston Astros about any pitching whatsoever," said Williams.

Thome powers White Sox to 6-2 win

Zambrano said he won’t appeal the penalty, which included a fine. Barring rainouts, he is eligible to return next Thursday and start that night at Atlanta.

“Well, you know, I think I’m a pretty good judge of when you make a mistake, when you do something wrong, you have to pay for it,” Zambrano said. “I don’t have a problem with that. I know that I did something that disrespected MLB. I apologize like I did yesterday, and let’s move on. I accept the suspension.”

Chicago manager Lou Piniella said the penalty was reasonable.

“I think the ruling was fair,” Piniella said. “I think Carlos does, also. He just took it too far. I think he realizes that.”

Posada set to join Yankees

Jorge Posada appears set to rejoin the New York Yankees.

The All-Star catcher played six innings Thursday in an extended spring training game, then said he was scheduled to fly to Cleveland to meet up with his team.

Posada has been sidelined since straining his right hamstring May 4. The Yankees open a four-game series with the Indians on Friday night.

Myers to have MRI on hip

Phillies pitcher Brett Myers had an MRI on Thursday that revealed fraying and possible tearing in the labrum of the hip joint.

Myers told The Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday that doctors said he likely will need surgery to repair the damage.

Ramirez being sued

White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez is being sued for $20 million for allegedly violating a contract he signed with local talent scouts before inking a major league contract.

In documents presented to the prosecutors office in the Peravia judicial district southeast of the Dominican capital, Ramirez and his agent Jaime Torres are alleged to owe Julio Martinez and Ramon Fernandez $450,000 from a signing bonus.

The plaintiffs are also asking for an additional $131,156, which represents 5 percent of Ramirez’s income from two years in the majors, the documents say. The $20 million claim is for damages and violating the contract.

Struggling Ray sent down

The Orioles optioned ineffective right-hander Chris Ray to Triple-A Norfolk to make room for pitcher David Hernandez, who was recalled from the minors to make his major league debut. Ray served as Baltimore’s closer until an elbow injury sidelined him in July 2007.

Zambrano suspended for 6 games

It was an outpouring of anger yesterday in Chicago that likely will lead to a suspension for the excitable righthander.

As he argued a close play at the plate, Zambrano appeared to nudge umpire Mark Carlson and was ejected. That set off the 6-foot-5-inch, 255-pound righthander in the seventh inning of the Cubs’ 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"I overexaggerated after that play to throw the ball and to do the other things, you know," Zambrano said after the game. "Hopefully MLB will review the play and we’ll see what happens."

With the Cubs leading, 2-1, and Zambrano closing in on his 100th career win, Nyjer Morgan led off the seventh with a single to left and went to third when the ball got by Alfonso Soriano for a two-base error.

When a Zambrano wild pitch bounced a short distance from catcher Geovany Soto, the speedy Morgan broke for the plate. Zambrano went to cover and took the throw. Morgan slid as Zambrano blocked the plate and Carlson called him safe.

Zambrano jumped up, argued the call, and appeared to make contact with Carlson, prompting the ejection. He then pointed in Carlson’s face and gave him the ejection sign.

Zambrano wasn’t finished. He threw a ball into left field, slammed his glove against a dugout fence, and whacked the drink dispenser on his way to the clubhouse.

"I apologize to him. Like I say, after he kicked me out, I should have gone to the clubhouse and kept watching the game," Zambrano said. "I apologize to throw the ball and do other things."

"I’m the only calm, cool, collected one around here it seems," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella who’s been known to throw bases and kick dirt during tantrums. "Just kidding."

Yankees 9, Rangers 2 – A.J. Burnett pitched six shutout innings to win for the first time in six weeks, Hideki Matsui homered twice, and New York gained a share of the AL East lead by routing host Texas.

The Yankees, who have won 12 of 15, are tied atop the division with the Red Sox. It is the first time this season New York has been in first place in the AL East.

Derek Jeter was 3 for 4 and reached base five times, and Mark Teixeira added his 12th homer in May.

Cardinals 3, Brewers 2 – Nick Stavinoha had two RBIs and scored the go-ahead run to lead visiting St. Louis back into first in the NL Central.

Orioles 12, Blue Jays 10 – Nolan Reimold hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 11th inning to cap a second surprising comeback by host Baltimore, which extended Toronto’s losing streak to nine games.

Indians 12, Rays 7 – Ben Francisco homered and drove in four runs as host Cleveland earned its first three-game winning streak of the season by defeating Tampa Bay.

Angels 3, White Sox 1 – Jered Weaver and Brian Fuentes combined on a five-hitter, Bobby Abreu had two RBIs, and host Los Angeles topped Chicago.

Tigers 8, Royals 3 – Rookie Rick Porcello won his fifth straight start, Placido Polanco homered and drove in three runs, and visiting Detroit beat Kansas City.

Mariners 6, Athletics 1 – Russell Branyan hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning, Erik Bedard won for the first time in five starts, and Seattle won in Oakland to avoid a sweep.

Mets 7, Nationals 4 – Host New York benefited from a replay review for the fifth time, with Daniel Murphy’s tiebreaking homer coming on an overturned call, and an uncharacteristically wild Johan Santana (six walks) improved to 7-2 by beating Washington.

Padres 8, Diamondbacks 5 – Adrian Gonzalez hit his majors-leading 18th home run and drove in three runs, and visiting San Diego defeated Arizona for its 11th win in 12 games.

Giants 6, Braves 3 – Randy Johnson earned his 299th victory with six impressive innings, yielding three hits and one run in host San Francisco’s victory over Atlanta.

Dodgers 8, Rockies 6 – Juan Pierre and Mark Loretta hit RBI singles with two outs during a five-run seventh inning, and Los Angeles then held off host Colorado for a three-game sweep.

Reds 6, Astros 1 – Jay Bruce homered twice and Bronson Arroyo pitched a five-hitter to lead host Cincinnati to a three-game sweep of Houston.

Marlins 6, Phillies 2 – Burke Badenhop pitched five sharp innings and Dan Uggla and Cody Ross homered for host Florida.

Zambrano ousted, Cubs win

The Mets called up the red-hot Bisons prospect this afternoon after placing Ryan Church and Jose Reyes on the disabled list. Mets manager Jerry Manuel started Martinez in right field Tuesday against the Washington Nationals in Citi Field. He struck out in his first at-bat in the second inning.

“Fernando is going to get an opportunity to play,” Manuel said in a news conference in New York. “I think it is important that he plays, that he gets an opportunity to get a feel for the major leagues. Once he gets that opportunity, he’ll determine the rest of the playing time. The key to staying here is still you have to win games.”

Martinez, the Mets’ top prospect, ran his hitting streak to seven games Monday and is batting .366 with four home runs, eight RBIs and seven runs scored since May 18. The 20-year-old is leading the Bisons with a .291 average, eight homers and 28 RBIs.

The Bisons are scheduled to host Lehigh Valley at 7:05 tonight in Coca-Cola Field.

Mets recall Martinez in time to face Nationals

The 38-year-old catcher singled to left field off Blue Jays starter Brian Tallet in the bottom of the fourth inning Monday afternoon, the winning hit in a 4-1 Baltimore Orioles victory on Memorial Day in the United States.

"I left a pitch that Zauney could handle and he hit a single," Tallet said. "That was the difference in the game, believe it or not."

It was just the fourth run Zaun has driven home this season to go with a lowly .215 batting average, but it was enough to send Toronto to a seventh consecutive loss, matching its longest skid of 2008.

"You just have to keep playing," Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston said. "You never know, in this game, what’s going to happen. You win four in a row and then you lose seven in a row. All you can do is show up and play and hope that you get out of it."

The Blue Jays, having led the major leagues in runs scored as recently as last week, have been outscored 34-11 in dropping the first seven games of a nine-game road trip that has seen their record slip to 27-21.

They entered Monday’s contest hitting .248 during the losing streak — a number that dipped to .143 with runners in scoring position — and averaging 1.7 runs per game and 8.5 hits in each outing.

On Monday, Toronto went 1-for-9 with runners on second or third base (.111) and crossed the plate once. The Jays also had nine hits in 35 at-bats (.257) but left nine runners on base at Camden Yards, one day after stranding 11 men at Atlanta.

The visitors started out strong as leadoff man Marco Scutaro singled and swiped his fourth base of the season. He later scored on a Vernon Wells single to give Toronto a 1-0 lead.

Baltimore began the day with five wins and 14 losses in 2009 when the opposition scores first but didn’t worry much about that statistic Monday as it answered the Blue Jays’ run in the bottom of the first.

Tallet and Orioles right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, who had a 1-4 record and 6.24 earned-run average in his previous seven appearances, then went pitch-for-pitch until Zaun touched the Toronto left-hander for a hit that brought in the go-ahead run in the fourth inning.

It remained 2-1 until the seventh when former Blue Jays closer and one-time Oriole B.J. Ryan took over and allowed the first three batters to reach base as Cesar Izturis singled, Brian Roberts tripled and Adam Jones walked.

A wild pitch and walk followed before Aubrey Huff brought home Roberts on a sacrifice fly to extend the Baltimore lead to 4-1.

Tallet’s record fell to 2-3 but he turned in his fifth straight quality start (three runs or less in six innings), allowing two runs in six innings of work and striking out five.

Tallet has a 2.81 ERA over his last five starts, yet is 1-2 over that span. He allowed two runs in six innings against Boston in his previous start, but Toronto lost 2-1 to start its current slide.

"We’re going through a tough time," Tallet said. "I started this skid in Boston and I was trying to do everything I could to stop it. I just wasn’t able to today."

Prior to Monday, the Orioles had been outscored 44-8 in the seventh inning, but Guthrie pitched his way out of trouble.

With one out and runners on first and second, he struck out Scutaro looking and induced Aaron Hill to ground into a force out in a driving rain. Hill had singled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to nine games.

"I don’t know how he did it. He sure came up with some big pitches," said Orioles manager Dave Trembley of Guthrie.

Added Guthrie: "It was a real tough little situation there. I could not feel the ball very well. To get that big [strikeout] there and Aaron Hill just missed that pitch enough to get that ground ball, that was huge."

Guthrie (4-4) allowed one run over seven innings for his second win in nine career starts versus Toronto. His longest start of the season came against the Blue Jays, a complete-game performance in a 4-3 loss on May 3 at Rogers Centre.

Orioles closer George Sherrill served up a leadoff double to Lyle Overbay in the ninth inning but retired Rod Barajas, Jose Bautista and Scutaro to nail his 10th save of the season and cement the Orioles’ fourth win in 18 games against Toronto since last June.

"Toronto has given us some hard times in the last couple years, and certainly they are playing good baseball this year," Roberts said. "So for us to beat a good team in our own division, yeah, I think that is something we can build on a little bit."

Baltimore improved to 19-26 with the win but remains last in the five-team American League East Division.

Zaun plays part in Blue Jays’ 7th straight loss

The Asian conglomerate, which includes JianHua Huang, a Chinese businessman who has brokered sponsorship deals with the New York Yankees and other sports franchises in the U.S., could acquire up to 15 percent of Cavaliers Operating Company, the entity that owns the team and operates Quicken Loans Arena.

The deal, completed by the sides in recent days, must be approved by the league’s board of governors.

Team president Len Komoroski said Sunday the group approached Cavs principal owner Dan Gilbert about the partnership and called the business venture “an exciting new opportunity.”

Gilbert’s role in overseeing the organization and 20,000-seat arena will not be affected by the new partners.

Citing multiple unnamed sources, the Cleveland Plain Dealer first reported the sides had a tentative deal in place. But in recent days, paperwork was completed between Gilbert and the consortium. It will now be sent to the league office for approval.

With an eye on spreading the game on a global scale, the NBA has been quietly pushing for an international group to become involved in ownership on a minority level. And with a huge fan base already in China—mainly because of Houston All-Star Yao Ming(notes)—the league has entered into several ventures with the nation to develop players and build arenas to NBA specifications.

Huang and others in the group attended Games 1 and 2 of the Eastern Conference finals in Cleveland. On Friday, they sat courtside and watched James hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the final second to give the Cavaliers a 96-95 win and even the best-of-seven series which resumed Sunday night.

If approved, the deal would provide marketing opportunities for the Cavaliers and James, who is eligible to become a free agent in the summer of 2010. The 24-year-old MVP, who is already among the league’s most popular players in Asia, has stated he wants to become the first billionaire athlete. His brand overseas could be enhanced by playing for a team with Chinese business partners.

There has been ongoing speculation that James will leave Cleveland to play in a larger market like New York or Los Angeles because of the vast business opportunities. But James—and his corporate sponsors like Nike—have broader goals and may be able to attain them by tapping into China’s colossal consumer marketplace without him ever leaving Cleveland.

James has never given any indication he wants to leave the Cavaliers, who drafted the Akron, Ohio, native with the No. 1 overall pick in 2003. He won a gold medal with the U.S. team last summer at the Beijing Games and has made four trips to China, including one with the Cavs during the preseason two years ago.

“It’s a big market,” James said before Game 3. “They love the game of basketball. I’ve been over there the last four or five summers. It should be good. It should be fun.”

Gilbert has been approached by outside investors in the past, but his original business group has mostly remained intact since he bought the Cavaliers and the rights to operate their arena for $375 million from former majority owner Gordon Gund in 2004.

Gilbert purchased the team with several other investors, including longtime business partner David Katzman, R&B superstar Usher and others. Gund maintained partial ownership.

However, in the past two years, Katzman has decided to focus on other business interests and the Chinese group would essentially take over his percentage of the Cavs.

Cavs sign ownership deal with China group

It started with Yankee fans, who began to see him as a villain after several heated clashes with Joba Chamberlain over inside pitching. And after his run-in with Johan Santana Friday night, Mets fans have a reason for strong feelings, too.

In the fifth inning of the Mets’ 5-3 win at Fenway, Santana hit Youkilis on the right elbow with a 2-2 pitch, his seventh of the at-bat. Youkilis said something, albeit with a smile on his face. An irked Santana yelled at him. Shouts back and forth ensued.

A skirmish between Youkilis and a New York pitcher would come as no surprise, but the Boston cleanup hitter says he’s adopted a new philosophy about the game that should mean fewer incidents. He says the top priority is now going to be having fun. On Friday he claimed his words to Santana were said lightheartedly.

"I laughed and said ‘(Shoot) that hurts.’ I was joking around and I guess he takes it serious," Youkilis said. "I don’t know. Supposedly he’s supposed to be a prankster."

"He started looking at me like I was intentionally trying to hit him," Santana said. "But I just told him just to take his base and that’s about it. But he’s still looking at me and talking, and it fires me up."

It’s possible that Santana was simply reacting based on Youkilis’ track record. In the last two years, Chamberlain and Youkilis have gotten into screaming matches about inside pitches that buzzed the first baseman. Chamberlain’s take has always been that when a batter crowds the plate, that happens. Youkilis’ stance is that Chamberlain clearly had intent.

"People told me I am too serious. When I joke around for the first time (after) getting hit by a pitch, (Santana) didn’t like it," Youkilis said. "What are you going to do?

"Maybe I should have run to first base."

Youkilis’ public image is not unlike Paul O’Neill’s was with the Yankees. He’s fiery, intense and demanding of himself. It’s not unusual to see him fire his bat back into the rack when he doesn’t get a hit or slam his helmet to the ground when he is upset.

"People think I am worse than I really am, in some places a lot worse," he said. "I don’t break bats. I haven’t cracked helmets. I still get (ticked) off, but that’s not who I am."

Youkilis said that people have been telling him to lighten up since he reached the majors, but it wasn’t until a conversation last year with then-teammate Sean Casey that he decided to alter his approach.

"He told me he used to be the same and then Barry Larkin told him to try loosening up and enjoying the game," Youkilis said.

There are a couple of developments that might have made Youkilis open to the suggestion. During the offseason he signed a four-year contract for $41.125 million and he got married. He said that not having to worry about the financial ramifications of every hit, home run or RBI helps. He added that "if you’re going to be a family man," one can’t be so high-strung.

Youkilis is enjoying the game more, though others aren’t getting as much of a charge out of his antics. The real test could come if Chamberlain pitches against Boston when the rivals meet in the second week of June.

Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis shows Mets same attitude as Yankees