News:at Chicago White Sox-May 28, 2002

Over his first seven starts, Ted Lilly had been a victim of Mike Mussina syndrome. Lilly entered Tuesday's start against the Chicago White Sox with a 1-4 record despite his 2.93 ERA, as his team had averaged just three runs per start for the young left-hander.

The Yankees' offense made Lilly sweat again on Tuesday but came through when it needed to, scoring four runs in the eighth inning to give Lilly and the Yankees a 4-2 win at Comiskey Park.

"I figure if I just keep going out there, eventually we're going to bunch a few together, and that's what we did," Lilly said. "It shows how scrappy our guys are."

Lilly made one mistake through seven innings, and it nearly cost him and his ballclub the game. With one on and one out in the second inning, he served up an 0-1 fastball to Sandy Alomar Jr., and the catcher launched it 375 feet into the left-field stands, giving Chicago a 2-0 lead with his 100th career home run.

"I think he was looking fastball," Lilly said. "He definitely didn't miss it."

"That was huge," Lilly said. "They had started to build some momentum. Sandy had hit the ball out of the park, and it was another big situation. Getting the double play right there to get out of that jam was big for us."

"You feel it coming on, that we're going to put something together," Lilly said. "You've seen us do it so many times, especially late in a game. I feel that if I can do my job and keep us close, we'll find a way -- and we did."

"That's all you can ask the kid to do. He was remarkable," said manager Joe Torre. "He made the bad pitch to Sandy, but he settled in, got out of some jams. He's been a goldmine for us, considering all of the injuries we've had. I don't know what our situation would be without him, the way he's pitched for us."

"Even though he was behind in the count to most hitters, he found a way to get them out," said catcher Jorge Posada. "Although we didn't score until late, we gave him four runs today and he gave us a chance to win. It was a battle the whole game for him."

"Those are the teams that we're going to have to face down the stretch, so it's good to get a feel for some of their hitters," Lilly said. "I feel really good about tonight, since I was in trouble and I hung in there. We made some good plays, I made some good pitches when I had to, and we were smart about keeping the ball out of their wheelhouse tonight."

"Ted has gotten so much confidence from his opportunity to start that he'll help us out of the bullpen as a reliever and a spot starter," Torre said. "He's picked up a lot of experience and confidence with this run he's had, but when Pettitte and Hernandez both come back, they're going to be our starters." A few seconds later, Torre had a grin on his face. "But it's nice to have that problem," Torre added. "To have someone laying in the weeds like Lilly."