NEW YORK -- The reality of life without Mariano Rivera set in for the New York Yankees on Wednesday night. Matt Joyce hit a three-run homer off fill-in closer David Robertson in the ninth inning, falling down on a twisted ankle as he finished his swing, and the Tampa Bay Rays rallied to beat the Yankees 4-1. In his first chance since taking over for the injured Rivera, Robertson escaped a bases-loaded jam to save Tuesdays 5-3 victory over the Rays. But one night later, New York got a chilling dose of what other teams deal with as they search for that reliable closer. "Its the worst feeling in the world," Robertson said. "You watch when Mo does it, he comes back the next day and hes the same guy. He goes right back out there, takes the mound and does his thing. Im going to have to do that tomorrow." With the Yankees clinging to a 1-0 lead, Sean Rodriguez singled through the left side on Robertsons first pitch and went to third when pinch-hitter Brandon Allen singled to right on the next delivery. Ben Zobrist walked and Carlos Pena, called out on strikes with the bases full to end Tuesday nights game, went down looking again. B.J. Upton, however, lifted a sacrifice fly to right and Rodriguez scored with a nifty slide to tie it. That was the first run charged to Robertson (0-1) in 27 outings since Aug. 29 last year in Baltimore. "Eventually, Im not going to be able to get out of all my messes that I create. It was really tough, just a sad way to end the game," he said. "Youre not always going to be perfect out there. I had a good stretch. It just stinks when you do give up the runs." Joyce, who struck out earlier with the bases loaded, drove a 1-2 pitch into the first row of seats beyond the short porch in right, giving Tampa Bay a 4-1 lead and snapping the clubs 0-for-20 drought with runners in scoring position. It was a painful swing, too. Joyce rolled his left ankle and fell down across the plate, then got up and trotted gingerly around the bases. "I kind of told myself I had to," he said. "You cant really have somebody else pinch run for you there. Theres really no other option." When he returned to the dugout, Joyce took plenty of ribbing from his teammates. He taped up his ankle and stayed in on defence but said hes not sure yet if its sprained. "It was the best and worst feelings that you could possibly have in the span of a minute," Joyce said. "Its always great to come up with a big hit like that, especially against the Yankees. Its just hard to celebrate when youre laying on the ground." Fernando Rodney (2-0) pitched two scoreless innings for the win. Robertson was an All-Star setup man before Rivera tore a knee ligament shagging fly balls in batting practice last Thursday in Kansas City. Now, he has a pressure-packed role in trying to replace baseballs career saves leader and the greatest closer the game has ever known. "Lets give the kid a chance," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "Anytime you move up in a role its an adjustment, but I have a ton of confidence that hes going to do a good job for us and hell bounce back. "This could be tough for him, but as I said, this is a pretty resilient kid. This is a kid thats done special things for us and you cant forget that." Even Rivera isnt perfect: Remember, he blew three of his first six save chances when he replaced John Wetteland as the closer in 1997. Robinson Cano hit an RBI double in the first and Rafael Soriano escaped an eighth-inning jam against his former team, but the Yankees couldnt hang on. Earlier in the day, Rivera announced hes receiving treatment for a blood clot in his right calf. The 42-year-old reliever, expected to miss the rest of the season, said hes still determined to return next year. He also said he was sweating and screaming at the television while watching Robertson labour to close out Tuesday nights victory. This one must have been even tougher to take. "I think he threw 25 or 26 pitches last night and it may have spilled over into tonight a little bit," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "The ninth inning is a different inning than the seventh or eighth inning. Its a different inning based on emotion. The passion that inning possesses is just different. Hes going to be fine, hes good. We just happened to get to him tonight." Yankees nemesis Jeff Niemann allowed six hits in a season-high seven innings and Tampa Bay snapped a three-game skid. The right-hander is 3-0 in six career starts against New York. Yankees rookie David Phelps, making his second career start, held Tampa Bay to three hits but was pulled one out short of qualifying for his first major league win. NOTES: Rays LHP David Price (5-1, 2.35 ERA) faces LHP CC Sabathia (4-0, 4.15) in a matchup of All-Star aces Thursday night. Price is 3-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five career starts against Sabathia, and Tampa Bay has won them all. ... Yankees reserve 3B-1B Eric Chavez is eligible to come off the 7-day disabled list for concussions on Thursday, but he hadnt been cleared to play yet by Major League Baseball because he didnt do well on one of the cognitive tests. Chavez said he felt 100 per cent Wednesday for the first time since the injury. [url=http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/richard-sherman-jersey.html]http://www... . For now Adrian Peterson and a relentless pass rush were enough for a 21-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. [url=http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/marshawn-lynch-jersey.html]http://www.... . Lind was sent down to the minors in May after batting .186 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 34 games. [url=http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/12th-fan-jersey.html]http://www.authen... . Lets start with the young, and a Canadian, to boot: Tristan Thompson, PF, Cleveland - The fourth overall pick in the 2011 draft, Thompson was only decent as a rookie, so hes looking for bigger and better things in his second season and, fortunately, the Cavaliers are giving him plenty of opportunity to show his stuff. [url=http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/]http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/... . The following is an excerpt of the memo sent out on Friday. --- Brief summary of the three core-economic proposals we made yesterday. Each has the players share declining over the life of the agreement. [url=http://www.authenticseahawksshop.com/russell-wilson-jersey.html]http://www.... . Inducted into the Hall of Fame last summer after a 19-year career with the Cincinnati Reds, Larkin told The Associated Press in a phone interview Wednesday that players who cheat shouldnt receive baseballs highest individual honour.OKLAHOMA CITY -- Before the tipoff Sunday night, Larry Drew said his new-look Atlanta Hawks were still trying to find their identity. They might have found it by the time the game ended. Al Horford had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Lou Williams added 10 of his 19 points during Atlantas decisive fourth-quarter surge and the Hawks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-95. "I thought the guys just came in here and rolled their sleeves up and played four solid quarters, and were just really happy that we came in here and got a win," Drew said. Williams hit a 3-pointer and a 24-foot jumper and converted a three-point play off a driving scoop in the lane during a 12-4 push midway through the fourth quarter that put the Hawks in front to stay. Williams two free throws made it 91-84 with 4:44 to play, and Atlanta held off a final charge by Oklahoma City. Williams ended up scoring 14 points overall during the fourth quarter as the Hawks won their road opener despite playing without starting forward Josh Smith because of a sprained right ankle. "Weve got new faces, a new team but we stuck with the offence. We believe in ourselves," said DeShawn Stevenson, who moved into the starting lineup and got the call down the stretch as Drew stuck with a mix of starters and reserves. "This is a great team. This is a team that could easily go back to the Western Conference finals or the Finals, and to come out here without Josh Smith is big," he added. Kevin Martin scored 28 points off the bench to lead the Thunder and Kevin Durant chipped in 22 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Durant was two assists shy of his first career triple-double but also wound up with six turnovers while shooting 2-for-9 in the second half. Fellow All-Star Russell Westbrook had an off night, making 5 of 18 shots while scoring 14 points and passing out nine assists. The Thunders 21 turnovers led to 31 Atlanta points. "I wish I could have had a couple of those turnovers back," said Durant, who has 20 assists and 16 turnovers in three games this season. Oklahoma City pulled to 91-89 after Martins 3-pointer from the left corner got the crowd roaring with 4:06 to play. Kendrick Perkins protested after being called for a foul for hacking Devin Harris on the arm on a baseline drive, and Harris hit both free throws. On the next trip, Westbrook tried to save a rebound under the basket but ended up feeding Horford with a behind the back pass for a dunk. Another Horford dunk set up by Zaza Pachulia and Stevensons 3-pointer -- also off a Pachulia pass -- bumped the lead to 100-91 with 1:28 to play. That was too much for Oklahoma City to overcome. Williams, the runner-up for Sixth Man of the Yearr last season with Philadelphia, was one of several acquisitions in an off-season roster shake-up that included Joe Johnson leaving for Brooklyn.dddddddddddd Martin, the Thunders new sixth man after James Harden was dealt to Houston a week ago, got it going early with 22 first-half points. But it was Williams who finished it off. "Lou got into a rhythm. He got into a rhythm and we were going to ride it," Drew said. "I had to make a decision whether to bring (starters) Jeff (Teague) and Kyle (Korver) back, but the group that was in there, they had a good rhythm going and I did not want to do anything to disrupt that. "So, we decided to ride Lous hot hand and he made some really big baskets," he added. "He made some really big plays for us." Atlanta turned 12 offensive rebounds -- six by Horford -- into 16 points. Jeff Teague had 16 points but was replaced down the stretch by Harris, who was dropped out of the starting lineup in favour of Stevenson. Anthony Tolliver started in Smiths place, but it was Pachulia who played late and made assists on a couple key baskets. "I thought the ball swung around a lot tonight, which shows the growth that this team has displayed over the past couple of games. Hopefully, thatll be something we can bottle up and use in the future," Williams said. The Hawks hit four straight shots and scored 11 consecutive points to take the lead late in the first quarter, with Teague connecting on a pair of driving baskets and two free throws to make it 22-16. Atlantas advantage reached as high as 10 after Williams jumper in the first 2 minutes of the second quarter. The Thunder outscored Atlanta 33-14 over the next 12 1/2 minutes to lead 57-498 early in the second half. "We had a lot of breakdowns. We cant start the game off in cruise mode. Weve got to go take it," Durant said after his team fell to 1-2. "A teams not going to just let us feel our way into the game. Weve got to go take the game. "Early on, we just sat back and let them do whatever they wanted and that gave them confidence toward the end of the game," Durant added. NOTES: Brenda Pantoja became the third woman to officiate an NBA game, following veteran official Violet Palmer and fellow rookie Lauren Holtkamp. Holtkamp, who made her debut in the Bulls-Cavaliers game on Friday night, are two of six non-staff officials who will work games this season. Pantoja, a former Arizona point guard who holds the schools career record for assists, has worked in the WNBA and NBA development league in recent years. ... The Hawks also won last seasons only meeting. ... Durant, the three-time scoring champion, came in leading the NBA with 15.5 rebounds per game. ' ' '