Long Day Ends in Yankee Win

NEW YORK — After a daylong wait for an afternoon doubleheader that was turned into a single night game, the New York Yankees found their one-two punch.

On another unusual day in the Bronx filled with talk of a forfeit, Hurricane Frances caused the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to arrive three hours after the scheduled start.

Alex Rodriguez then was shifted into the No. 2 spot in the batting order and stroked a three-run double for his first hit with the bases loaded in more than a year. Derek Jeter, batting leadoff for the second day in a row, scored a pair of runs, and Orlando Hernandez won his seventh decision in a row to lead the Yankees over the Devil Rays, 7-4, Monday night, Tampa Bay’s season-high eighth consecutive loss.

Fouled up by the hurricane, which caused consecutive postponements against Detroit on Saturday and Sunday at Tropicana Field, the Devil Rays’ charter didn’t even take off from Florida until five minutes before the doubleheader was scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

Major League Baseball then switched it to a single night game at 7 p.m., just one hour after the Devil Rays arrived.

The Yankees asked the commissioner’s office to award them a forfeit, a request Commissioner Bud Selig made clear he would reject. Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer, said the other game will be rescheduled soon, possibly during the remainder of the series, which runs through Thursday. The Yankees threatened to refuse to make up the game this week.

Fans started entering the ballpark at 11 a.m. and were given free hot dogs and soda during the eight-hour wait. They applauded loudly during batting practice and were unusually lively during the early innings.