PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Pirates make their first visit to Yankee Stadium since the 1960 World Series starting Tuesday, and they'll also play in Boston's Fenway Park this week for the first time in their history.

Manager Lloyd McClendon couldn't be happier that his younger players will get to visit two of baseball's best-known ballparks, especially since they've never appeared before on a Pirates regular-season travel itinerary.

But McClendon said the two interleague series should have been played in Pittsburgh, where they likely would have generated six sellout crowds.

"You talk about interleague play, and it's supposed to help the leagues. If it's going to help, doesn't it make sense those two clubs come to our ballpark, where we have a chance to sell out, help revenues and help generate interest here in Pittsburgh?" McClendon said recently.

The Red Sox visited Pittsburgh two years ago for a three-game series that included a rain-created doubleheader. But the Yankees haven't played in Pittsburgh since the 1960 World Series - or 45 years and two ballparks ago for the Pirates.

The Yankees are playing two other NL Central teams, the Cardinals and Brewers, on the road.

"Yeah, I'm excited about having the opportunity to visit Yankee Stadium," McClendon said. "But I'd much rather have them (the Yankees) see PNC Park."

That's not McClendon's only complaint about the interleague schedule. He also wonders why the Indians and Pirates, located a two-hour drive apart, don't play every season. The Indians' previous but irregular trips to Pittsburgh have always generated big crowds.

"Pittsburgh and Cleveland, that's not a rivalry," McClendon said, sarcastically.

By scheduling the Reds to annually play the Indians rather than the Pirates, it's almost as if baseball's schedule-makers haven't heard about the Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland, Browns vs. Steelers rivalry - one of the best in pro sports.

However, the Pirates can't use that as an excuse, since a Pittsburgh-based business helped draw up this season's schedule.

And how long has it been since the Pirates played in Yankee Stadium? Broadcaster Steve Blass, who has gone to spring training with them since the early 1960s as a player or announcer, is making the trip because he's never seen a Pirates game in either park.

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TWO-MITT DOUMIT: Manager Lloyd McClendon

has one problem with rookie Ryan Doumit. Namely, where to play him.

Playing Doumit means sitting down catcher Humberto Cota or right fielder Matt Lawton, something McClendon prefers not to do on a regular basis. That's why McClendon's problem will be solved for at least a week when the Pirates play the interleague games against the Yankees and Red Sox.

"It's highly likely he'll be the DH in the games in the two ballparks," McClendon said Sunday.

In his first week in the majors, Doumit has impressed McClendon with his maturity and confidence at the plate. In only his second career start Saturday night, Doumit had a single, double and triple, three RBIs and three runs scored. He went 2-for-5 with two doubles in a 7-5, 13-inning loss Sunday to Tampa Bay.

"He's really fit in quite nicely," McClendon said. "He's not overwhelmed by anything. He's a polished hitter. He knows what he's doing when he steps in that box."

Doumit impressed the Pirates by hitting nearly .400 during spring training, then had a .345 average with 12 homers, 11 doubles and 35 RBIs at Triple-A Indianapolis before being recalled June 5.

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FAMILIAR YANKEES: Not many Pirates have

played in Yankee Stadium, but two of the Yankees' three starting pitchers in the Tuesday-through-Thursday series are familiar to them: Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown.

Johnson (6-5, 3.76 ERA) and Brown (4-6, 5.43 ERA) opposed the Pirates while in the NL, and Brown most recently had an unsuccessful spring training start against them in March. The only Yankees starter who will be unfamiliar to the Pirates is Mike Mussina (6-4, 4.33 ERA).

Three of the Pirates' five starting pitchers have played in Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park: as Mark Redman, Kip Wells and Josh Fogg. Redman (4-4, 2.80 ERA) and Wells (5-4, 3.39 ERA) will oppose the Yankees, while Fogg starts against the Red Sox.

The matchups for the Yankees series: Tuesday, Wells vs. Mussina; Wednesday, Redman vs. Brown; Thursday, Oliver Perez (5-4, 5.88 ERA) vs. Johnson.

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NOTES: The Pirates had seven players with two

or more hits in their 18-2 rout of Tampa Bay on Saturday night. The club record is 10 against Philadelphia on Aug. 7, 1922. ... RHP Josh Sharpless, who did not allow an earned run in 27 innings over 17 games at Class A Lynchburg, was promoted Sunday to Double-A Altoona. ... After going 9-4 on a season-long 13-game home stand, the Pirates play 16 of 19 on the road. Their only home games until July 4 are June 20-22 against Washington. All but three of the 16 road games are against winning-record teams (Yankees, Red Sox, Nationals, Cardinals). ... The Pirates have something going for them in Yankee Stadium that most teams don't: a two-game winning streak. They won Games 4 and 5 of the 1960 World Series there.

AP-ES-06-12-05 1933EDT