ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Major lineup changes, a team meeting and a visit to the ballpark by The Boss.

Nothing stopped the New York Yankees from sinking to the bottom of the AL East during a miserable road trip to Tampa Bay, which won three of four to dump the seven-time defending division champions into a tie for last place.

"We have just not played up to our capability or up to our expectations," manager Joe Torre said after a 6-2 loss Thursday night left New York seven games under .500 for the first time since July 18, 1995.

"It's certainly something we weren't prepared for. We're going to have to keep plugging and grinding. Hopefully it's something we look back on and it helps us later in the year."

At 11-18, the Yankees are eight games behind first-place Baltimore, their biggest deficit of the season.

The lineup changes Torre and general manager Brian Cashman made after the team won the series opener against the Devil Rays have not sparked the club. A team meeting before Thursday's finale didn't help either.

In between, George Steinbrenner watched part of a loss at Tropicana Field and couldn't have been happy with what he saw.

New York returns home Friday to begin a series against Oakland. Torre knows the reception from fans could be harsh.

"You get what you earn," said Torre, who'll also have his eye on Friday's Kentucky Oaks as part owner of favorite Sis City. Steinbrenner's horse, Bellamy Road, is the favorite in Saturday's Kentucky Derby.

"We understand what goes with playing this game in New York for a team that's supposed to win," Torre said. "You can't go hide. You've got to go out there and take your lumps and look forward to the day that we turn this around."

Mark Hendrickson (1-1) pitched effectively into the eighth inning, and Alex Sanchez homered and scored four times for the Devil Rays, who won a series against the Yankees for the first time since September 2002.

Aubrey Huff and Josh Phelps drove in two runs apiece off Chien-Ming Wang (0-1).

Gary Sheffield hit a two-run homer for New York, trimming a fourth-inning deficit to 3-2. Tampa Bay pulled away with two runs in the fifth and went up 6-2 in the seventh on Sanchez's homer off Buddy Groom.

The Yankees have lost seven of their last nine games and share the AL East cellar with the Devil Rays, who have won four of six meetings between the teams after going 4-15 against New York last season.

"We've been their punching bag for a while, so it's good to go out there and take three of four," Huff said.

"You beat a team that's highly respected," manager Lou Piniella added, "you should feel good about yourself."

Yankees captain Derek Jeter noted there's no secret for pulling out of the tailspin.

"We can't look at the standings. We have to start winning games, one at a time," Jeter said. "We can't worry about how many games we're out, who were tied with. We just have to take it one game at a time."