The Empire Strikes Back

If this wasn't against Tampa Bay, it would be amazing:

Robinson Cano and Jeter singled against Franklin Nunez, then Ruben Sierra plated Cano with an RBI fielder's choice. Sheffield battled from behind in the count against Nunez, singling to put runners at the corners.

A-Rod singled in Jeter, cutting the lead to 11-9. Travis Harper replaced Nunez, then Hideki Matsui doubled to right field, scoring Sheffield and moving Rodriguez to third. With their lead down to one, the Rays opted to intentionally walk Jason Giambi, giving them a chance at an inning-ending double play.

With the crowd of 40,241 chanting "Bernie! Bernie!" in unison, Williams had something else in mind, smoking the first pitch over Hollins' head in center field. All three runners scored on the triple, giving New York a 13-11 lead.

"It's where you want to be," Williams said. "That's what the game is all about -- being able to perform in situations like that. It was great that I was able to do it."

"That was big," Sheffield said. "Everybody jumped on the top step when Bernie hit that ball. You know how hard he works, so you want to see him come through."

Posada followed with a two-run homer, and after Jeter and Sierra singled, Sheffield drilled a three-run shot, his second of the game.

A-Rod and Matsui followed with solo shots, giving the Yankees back-to-back-to-back home runs off Harper, who was charged with nine runs in the frame. It was the 10th time in history that the Yankees hit three consecutive homers in a regular-season game, the first since May 8, 1994, against Boston. They also hit three straight homers in Game 1 of the 1997 American League Division Series, against Cleveland.

"When Sheffield hit the home run, then Matsui hit the home run, then A-Rod hit the home run, it was like, 'Wow, when is this going to end?' " Williams said. "It was a great thing to see."

When Russ Johnson finally flew out to right field to end the inning, the Yankees had scored 13 runs on 12 hits during their 35-minute turn at the plate.

"That eighth inning, it was a remarkable thing," Torre said. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. Everything we swung at was either a base hit or a home run."

"If there's a turning point in the season, this should be it," Williams said. "Hopefully, there will be more like this to come."

Yes, it's a turning point for the Yankees: from now on, they'll beat the cellar dwellers consistently, and turn around their 3-5 record against the Florida Folders.