MILWAUKEE - Derek Jeter thinks the Yankees might be jinxed.

"It seems like when you're scuffling, you don't get any breaks," Jeter said after watching Geoff Jenkins' rob him of a game-tying extra-base hit with two outs in the ninth to preserve the Milwaukee Brewers' 4-3 win Monday night. "And when you're playing well, everything goes your way."

Nothing is going right for the Yankees lately, losers of eight of their last nine.

"If we had won 10 in a row, Jenkins is probably in right-center and the ball drops," Jeter lamented. "But since we're scuffling, he's playing right on line and he catches it.

"That's just the way it goes. Can't hang your head. We've got a long way to go. The season is not over with. We got to find a way to battle back. But now is the time to find out about our team."

With pressure mounting from impatient owner George Steinbrenner, the $200 million Yankees fell to 1-6 on their 12-game road trip and dipped below .500 at 28-29. They also fell to 0-21 when scoring three runs or fewer.

"We're certainly going to have to earn our money to turn this thing around because it's just not a lot of fun right now," manager Joe Torre said.

Randy Johnson is shouldering much of the blame for the Yankees' discouraging season.

"I don't even know what to say except I'm really disappointed I'm not pitching as well as I thought I would be at this point in the season," the 41-year-old left-hander said after falling to 5-5 and watching his ERA rise to 4.07 ERA.

His velocity and his strikeouts have been down since the five-time Cy Young winner signed a $32 million, two-year contract extension in January to pitch in pinstripes.

"I came here to win ballgames for this team and right now it's not happening at the rate I thought it would be," Johnson said. "It just doesn't matter how hard I throw, 98 or 115, I expect to go out and win a ball game."

Johnson allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out eight. He allowed the go-ahead homer to Junior Spivey in the sixth and also a solo shot in the third to Jeff Cirillo.

Doug Davis (8-5), who allowed three runs and four hits with five walks and eight strikeouts, got the win.

But it was right fielder Jenkins who ruined New York's first trip to Milwaukee since 1997 with his outstanding catch that even he figured would escape his reach.

"Two more inches," Jenkins marveled. "It was one of those balls where you're running all out. Luckily, I had enough Rawlings to glove it."

New York put the potential tying run on second base with none out in the ninth, but Derrick Turnbow struck out rookie Robinson Cano and got pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra on a groundout.

Jeter then sliced the drive to right that appeared headed for the corner - probably an extra-base hit that would tie the game. But Jenkins, running at full speed, reached out and made a terrific grab, leaving Jeter grimacing as he rounded first base.

"I don't know what he was doing over there," Jeter said, referring to Jenkins. "I guess it was good placement on his part, good coaching or scouting, whatever. But when I hit it, I thought the game was going to be tied."

Jenkins was in just the right spot thanks to first base coach Dave Nelson.

When Jeter came up, Nelson motioned for Jenkins to take a few steps in and a couple steps toward the line so he could have a play at the plate to throw out pinch-runner Tony Womack should Jeter hit a single in front of him.

"I wasn't concerned about the double over his head," Nelson said. "And then I also felt that the way Turnbow was throwing that Jeter wasn't going to pull the ball."

He was perfectly positioned to send the Yankees home muttering yet again.