When Pettitte was forced out of Wednesday's game against Tampa Bay after throwing only three pitches, it was Lilly who came out of the pen and put on an impressive show. He handcuffed the Devil Rays as the Yankees posted a 5-1 victory in the Bronx, evening their record at 1-1 on the current homestand.

Pettitte, who suffered a contusion after getting hit on the left elbow by a Ben Grieve line drive in the first inning, will likely miss his next start Monday at Yankee Stadium. He was taken to Beth Israel North Hospital where was examined by Dr. Henry Clark and Dr. Peter McCann. X-rays and a CT scan revealed no structural damage.

While Lilly, who was making his first appearance since Sept. 4, made for a nice feel good story, Pettitte threw a scare into the Yankee brass. But, all indications are that he will be fine and should make one more start before the postseason. What effect Pettitte's injury will have on how Torre shapes the postseason rotation remains to be seen.

But the Yankee skipper did say that he might have to rethink who starts when once the playoffs begin. It's pretty much a certainty that Roger Clemens will start Game 1 of the postseason. Should Pettitte's last start of the regular season -- as of now it would be the final game of the year -- be his only start before the playoffs, Torre would likely move him to the back end of the rotation.

"We have to look at it," Torre said. "If he has only one start, we'll have to see what he looks like. We're going to have to keep in mind that he might be limited. We could rearrange what we're going to do. We'll have to see how he [Pettitte] responds before we get a better read.

"If we have to rearrange, it's not a problem. If he has to pitch fourth, he can pitch fourth. Just about everyone of those pitchers has Game 1 experience, so it's not a problem to have Pettitte go to the back of the line. The practice [he puts in] will tell us more about him that the [last] start."

Torre hadn't spoken to the doctors as of Wednesday night, adding that he would like to take a wait and see approach before having Pettitte throw again.

"We want to see how much swelling there is," Torre said. "We don't want him to throw and spread the swelling."

Lilly, meanwhile, has an opportunity not only to make a case to get another start before the playoffs begin, he has a chance to make a good case to be included on the playoff roster. Torre seemed certain that the young southpaw would pitch again before the end of the season, but wouldn't commit to giving him a start. Sterling Hitchcock could step in and for Pettitte on Monday, but Torre said Wednesday night was too early to make any such decision.

Still, Lilly was effective.

"In the situation I'm in, I knew I had to be ready early in the game," said Lilly, who made 20 starts for the Yanks this season before being optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Aug. 21 when Orlando Hernandez was activated from the disabled list. "I was mentally ready and I was happy to be out there. It felt good to be on the field again. I haven't thrown in quite a while, but I've been working on the side and that's kept me sharp. I worked hard and I think it paid off, we'll see what happens."

Brent Abernathy led the game off with a single for the Devil Rays. Grieve then lined Pettitte's first offering back up the box, catching Pettitte. After a brief consultation with Torre and the training staff, Pettitte walked off the mound.

Lilly came in and quickly got out of the jam. Toby Hall flied into a double play after hitting a ball to shallow center. Abernathy was running on the pitch and was on third base when Bernie Williams made the catch. Williams then fired to Soriano to complete the double play. Steve Cox grounded to first to end the inning.

"I definitely didn't have too much time to think about anything," Lilly said. "I had to keep it simple. I just had to come out and be aggressive. And, I'm definitely happy Andy says he's fine. That's good for us."

Shane Spencer led the Yankees offensively. He had two hits, including a solo homer, and three RBIs. The homer, his 10th of the season, gives the Yankees nine players who have reached double digits in homers. Arizona and Oakland are the only other teams in the Majors to have nine players hit 10 or more homers.

Paul Wilson (7-9) pitched a strong game for the D-Rays, going seven innings and scattering three hits. He struck out seven and allowed three runs (two earned) but was the victim of a porous Tampa Bay defense. The Devil Rays committed four errors, two of which came in the second inning when the Yanks took a 2-0 lead. The runs snapped a franchise record 21-inning scoreless streak.

"We sort of shot ourselves in the foot tonight," Rays Manager Hal McRae said. "I don't think the sloppy defense is the reason we lost tonight, though. I think the inability to get a big hit early on and the fact that we didn't generate enough offense hurt. You never want to play bad defensively, but I don't think that we lost the game because of it."