ESPN.com Boston/NY Yankees recap

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Wednesday, May 23 7:05pm ET
Yanks beat Cone behind Jeter, Williams

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

NEW YORK (AP) -- David Cone was successful in tuning out the crowd and the distractions in his Yankee Stadium return -- until Derek Jeter flashed him a smile before batting in the first inning.


	Bernie Williams hit David Cone's only mistake pitch of the night for a two-run homer in the third that put the Yankees ahead for good.

Jeter did more than just break his former teammate's concentration. He teamed with Bernie Williams to beat Cone and the Boston Red Sox 7-3 Wednesday night.

"It was a bit disarming," Cone said of Jeter's reaction. "I'm trying to keep my game face going but Derek has that type of personality where he's almost laughing at me, not believing that I'm facing him. I didn't want to look at him but you can't help it."

Cone was sharp against his former team, but not good enough. Jeter went 5-for-5 with a homer and three runs scored, Williams homered and drove in three runs and Andy Pettitte pitched into the ninth inning to lead New York.

On a cold, misty evening that felt like some of the October nights when Cone (0-1) was at his best, the 38-year-old right-hander allowed three runs and six hits in five innings.

"We were looking to beat his brains out," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We love David Cone, but when he wears the enemy's uniform, you want to beat him."

Cone struck out five and made only one big mistake in his second start of the year -- a high fastball that Williams drove for a two-run homer in the third inning.

"I've seen Bernie do that a lot. Now I'm in his book," Cone said. "It's nice to be talking about one or two pitches rather than if my stuff is good enough anymore."

Cone received a warm ovation as he walked from the third-base dugout to the Yankee Stadium mound for the first time since June 23, 1995, for Toronto.

"It was a great reception from classy fans," he said.

It was thanks for a Yankees career that included 60 wins, four World Series titles and a perfect game.

"It was weird to see him out there," Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said.

With his cap pulled down low, his splitter diving out of the strike zone, and the No. 36 on his back, Cone resembled the big-game pitcher Yankees fans were used to seeing for most of his 5½ years in New York.

The difference was the gray Red Sox uniform instead of the Yankees pinstripes.

"It definitely wasn't the same-old, same-old," he said. "It's a feeling I haven't felt for a while. I was certainly nervous and had butterflies. It was a good feeling. It was a nice feeling to be back pitching when it means something."

Cone's performance was quite a contrast from the pitcher who went 4-14 with a 6.91 ERA last season, leading to his departure from New York.

"It's the best I've felt in a couple of years," he said. "There a couple of pitches I would like to have back, but every losing pitcher feels that way."

The Yankees, who have sputtered their way through the first seven weeks of the season, got the hitting they've been missing from Jeter and Williams.

Jeter singled in front of Williams' fourth homer in the third inning, singled and scored on Williams' grounder in the fifth, and homered off Tim Wakefield in the seventh. The five hits were a career high.

"You try to be aggressive," he said of his approach in his first game against Cone. "I was swinging early in the count. You don't want to fall behind him."

That was more than enough for Pettitte (5-3), the constant in the Yankees rotation with Cone during New York's run of four World Series titles in five years.

Pettitte allowed three runs and six hits in 8 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out five, using two double plays to face the minimum 15 batters from the fourth through the eighth inning.

Boston's first run came in the second inning when Manny Ramirez singled and later scored on Jason Varitek's sacrifice fly.

Ramirez added a two-run double in the ninth that knocked out Pettitte. Ramirez, who has 56 RBI in 44 games, went 3-for-4 to raise his major league-leading average to .414.

Pettitte, who pitched a six-hitter to beat Boston 6-1 on April 20, improved to 7-3 in his career against the Red Sox.

"We haven't quite found an answer to him yet as a team," Varitek said. "He has great stuff and is a great pitcher."

Posada added a two-run homer off Rod Beck in the eighth.

Game notes
Cone is 1-4 against the Yankees in his career. ... Torre won his 1,406th career game, tying Jimmy Dykes for 21st place all-time. ... Jeter has 17 hits in his last 38 at-bats, raising his average from .289 to .324. ... Boston's Jose Offerman went 0-for-4 to snap his 13-game hitting streak.