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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Hiroki Kuroda got a couple extra days between starts and it looked as if it paid off. Kuroda pitched neatly into the seventh inning, Brett Gardner drove in two runs and the New York Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 on Sunday. Kuroda (8-8) retired 17 straight batters after allowing consecutive one-out singles to Ben Zobrist and Matt Joyce in the first. "I was able to physically get refreshed as well as mentally," Kuroda said through a translator. Kuroda gave up two runs and four hits in 6 2-3 innings. After Shawn Kelley and Dellin Betances combined for 1 1-3 scoreless innings, David Robertson closed for his 33rd save. "He had everything in his arsenal today," New York manager Joe Girardi said of Kuroda, who lasted just 4 2-3 innings in his previous start. New York has won two in a row after losing five straight. "We won our last two, and hopefully go home and win five or six and keep on going," Gardner said. Jeremy Hellickson (1-2) didnt allow a hit until there were two outs in the fifth. After a walk to Stephen Drew, Martin Prado doubled and Gardner followed with a two-run single. Jacoby Ellsbury, hitless in his previous 17 at-bats during a five-game road trip, made it 3-1 with an RBI single on New Yorks fourth straight hit. "The walk to Drew really set the game the other way," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. Hellickson made his sixth start after right elbow surgery in January. He left after the fifth. Mark Teixeira reached 20 homers for the 11th time in his career with a solo shot in the Yankees eighth. The slugger tied Joe DiMaggio for 80th place on the all-time list with 361. Evan Longoria had two RBIs for the Rays. He hit a run-scoring grounder in the first and drove in Joyce with a seventh-inning single that pulled Tampa Bay within 3-2. Prado also made several strong defensive plays at second base during Kurodas long run of consecutive outs. Tampa Bay had its club record of holding opponents to three runs or less end at 12 consecutive games. The Rays were just 7-5 over the stretch. "Thats like mid-60s baseball," Maddon said. "Wed like to take a little more advantage than 7-5." TRAINERS ROOM Yankees: Derek Jeter was the DH for the second straight game and sixth time this season. Jeter fouled a ball off his lower left leg Saturday, but Girardi said giving Jeter a break from the turf at Tropicana Field was behind the decision. ... C Brian McCann was hitless in four at-bats in his return after missing six games with a concussion. Rays: RF Wil Myers (broken right wrist) could return this week. OF David DeJesus (broken left hand) will not play in a rehab game Monday due to hand soreness. KURODAS HOMEWORK Joyce is 9 for 23 with three homers off Kuroda, which is something the right-hander has taken notice of. "If I knew what causes it, Im sure Id be able to get him out," Kuroda said. "Thats something that I have to take home and study." UP NEXT Yankees: LHP Chris Capuano (1-3) is scheduled to start against Houston LHP Brett Oberholtzer (4-8) Tuesday night. Rays: Tampa Bay and Detroit begin a three-game series Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. Former Rays ace David Price is scheduled to face Tampa Bay for the first time Thursday. Isaiah Canaan Jersey . Anaheim Ducks Reassign D Colby Robak to Norfolk Admirals (AHL). - Team Website D Eric Brewer (foot) removed from injured reserve. Deandre Ayton Jersey . The right-hander said he threw about 30 pitches in a routine bullpen session Sunday at Yankee Stadium, his final hurdle before starting Tuesday night at Tampa Bay. https://www.thesunslockerroom.com/Marquese-Chriss-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Neither made it that far in 2013. Not even close. Federer lost his second match at the All England Club. Nadal exited in the first round, a year after bowing out in the second. Mikal Bridges Jersey . The 7-foot-1 Hawes, who is in the final year of his contract, is averaging 13 points and 8.5 rebounds, both career highs, and shoots 40 per cent from 3-point range. The 25-year-old Hawes is in his seventh NBA season. Penny Hardaway Jersey . Lineup news, Fantasy and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES St. Louis Blues – After rolling the San Jose Sharks for seven goals, for the second time in a week, the Blues have a bunch of players on hot streaks.MINNEAPOLIS - Less than 15 minutes after the final buzzer sounded, Kyle Lowry, originally surprised to learn he had recorded his fifth career triple-double and second of the season, lamented his recent shooting slump. "Lately my shot has been off," said Lowry, fresh off a 20-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist performance in the Raptors 111-104 victory over the Timberwolves. "Ive been in a crazy slump for me. Imma find my way out of it." Demanding the best from himself and his team has become the norm for a player that led Toronto in more ways than one on Sunday. Lowry shot just 5-of-13 from the field but it didnt seem to matter much because he did almost everything else. The Raptors point guard knocked down nine of his 10 free throws, netted a couple of steals, found teammates for big shots throughout the evening and helped change the game with his rebounding. As a team, it was their hot shooting that kept the Raptors afloat in the first half, even leading by one at intermission. However, that lead seemed unsustainable at the rate in which Minnesota dominated the trenches. Late in the third quarter, as Lowry wrestled the ball from Nikola Pekovic - a ferocious rebounder with 80 pounds and nearly a foot on the Raptors guard - to give his team another possession, it was clear the momentum had swung. "He did a good job of getting in there, penetrating, finding people," Dwane Casey said of Lowry. "We needed all of his rebounds, especially with the way they crash the boards. He just had an all-around game." After giving up 10 offensive rebounds in the first half - it was the 12th time theyve surrendered at least 10 offensive boards in the last 17 games - the Raptors allowed just six in the seconds half, doubling Minnesotas efforts on the boards, 28-14. Lowry, who had nine rebounds in the final 24 minutes, and his nose for the ball seemed to rub off and inspire his teammates. "Its crazy," DeMar DeRozan said of Lowrys effort. "We all look at one another and realize, what can I do to help him out?" "Just seeing him going there, sometimes he comes out of nowhere and you see him snatch a ball out of a bigs hand, or coming over the top like he has a 42-inch vertical or something. Thats just Kyle, man. Hes hungry for the ball every time the ball goes up." His passion, like his tenacity, has been contagious and his backcourt partner appears to have caught the bug. With just over a minute to go and the shot clock ticking down, up seven, DeRozan took a pass from Lowry. Situated in the left corner, with the Wolves Corey Brewer in his face, he drained the dagger, a three-pointer to put the Raptors up 10. On his way to the Raptors huddle, Minnesota having just called a timeouut, a fired-up DeRozan turned to the Wolves bench and shouted a couple of R-rated words that did not sit well with coach Rick Adelman.dddddddddddd "They got a little hyped when they made a couple of buckets," said DeRozan, who finished with 25 points. "I kind of got it from Greivis (Vasquez). When he hits a big shot, he always shows off a little bit. Its the competitive level thats in all of us when you hit a big shot." "I like the passion," Casey added. "I think all of our guys are playing with passion, we have to channel it and get it going in the right direction, at the other team. I do like that." It was a rare showing of on-court emotion for the quiet all-star guard but something weve seen a lot more of over the last few weeks. Lowry, who is known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, approves. "When youre an all-star, youre growing up, your true self starts to come out a little bit," he said of his teammate. "Hes a quiet guy but when youre winning and youre a leader, youve got to do it." Listed at a generous 6-feet, Lowry is averaging just under five rebounds per game, good for fourth among NBA point guards, behind only Russell Westbrook, Michael Carter-Williams and Rajon Rondo. Lowry is shooting just 32 per cent from the field, 29 per cent from three-point range - down from 39 per cent on the season - over his last eight games. Its barely affected his overall value to the team and it certainly hasnt hurt the bottom line. Toronto has won six of those eight games and nine of its last 11 contests, surpassing last seasons win total with its 35th victory on Sunday. Without sixth-man Patrick Patterson in the lineup - the Raptors learned he will miss at least 7-10 days with a ligament injury in his right elbow before the game - Steve Novak and Chuck Hayes stepped in and filled that role seamlessly. Hayes strength and on-the-ball defence came in handy against all-star forward Kevin Love - who just missed out on a triple-double, with 26 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists - and Novak knocked down five of his six shots from beyond the arch, contributing 15 points in 19 minutes off the bench. As a team, the Raptors shot 14-of-24 from long distance, with Terrence Ross hitting three of four attempts and DeRozan, as well as Vasquez each drilling a couple threes. The victory was Torontos 18th in its previous 19 meetings with the Wolves, sweeping the season-series for the eighth time in the last 10 years. Now nine games above the .500 mark for the first time this season, the Raptors will travel to Brooklyn to face the Nets - who sit four games back for top spot in the Atlantic Division - in the second night of a back-to-back, for both teams, on Monday. ' ' '