Daily News from New York, New York • 799

4v ID cn Baseball mm SHIP IP" "1 smm Kays By PETER BOTTE DAIIY NEWS SPORTS WRITER The world's foremost heavy-metal band probably will be associated forever around here with David Wells, although Mariano Rivera also has made a habit this season of jogging in from the bullpen to the blaring sounds of Metallica's "Enter Sandman." It's just that over the last two weeks, the usually untouchable All-Star closer hadn't been putting many rallies to bed. And that, understandably, is the Yankees' worst nightmare. At least Rivera has helped the Yankees dream a little easier over the last three days, especially after closing out his third save in as many games to preserve yesterday's otherwise blah 5-4 victory for Andy Pettitte over the Devil Rays before 40,557 at the Stadium. "I wasn't worried about him, but that's the thing you're worried about, that he's concerned," Joe Torre said following the Yanks' third straight win. "It's a lot easier to sit where I am and not be concerned than to be out there.

Just from personal experience, sometimes it seems like a boulder and it turns out to be a pebble." The raw numbers suggested Pettitte's latest chance to prove to the organization that no moves need to be made at the trading deadline also had some rocky spots. But the Yankees clearly were encouraged by his six-inning performance in which he YANKEES 5 DEVIL RAYS 4 WW i i i 1 I Yffr. i ultimately was charged with four runs for his second straight victory. Aside from allowing an RBI double in the first and a solo homer in the fourth by Fred McGriff, Pettitte (7-7) had command of his pitches. "That's probably the best I felt in a long time as far as command of all of my pitches," said Pettitte, who walked four and struck out four over 102 pitches.

"You just want to come in here and beat on yourself for those two walks in the seventh, but I'm not going to let it ruin my day." The lefty was removed with a 5-2 lead and none out in the seventh after issuing passes to Terrell Lowery and Aaron Ledesma to open the inning. Reliever Mike Stanton was reached for RBI singles by Miguel Cairo and Bobby Smith to quickly close the gap to a single run, making Pettitte's ledger appear worse than it should have been. "Andy threw great, probably the best stuff he's had in a while," said Joe Girardi, who contributed a clutch RBI single in the sixth. "We just continue to build and build and get Andy back to what he's accustomed to doing." One thing Pettitte had been accustomed to before this season was winning regularly, considering he was the AL's leader in victories from 1996-98. It turned out that Bernie Williams' two-run homer (15th) in the first, Paul O'Neill's RBI double in the fifth and two runs in the sixth were enough to accomplish that yesterday.

After Stanton permitted the two runners he inherited from Pettitte to score, Ramiro Mendoza caught pinch-hitter Paul Sorrento looking with the bases loaded to end the inning. Following a perfect eighth by Mendoza, it was time for Rivera. Time for "Enter Sandman," and time to officially shake free from the first true slump of his career. "Obviously, you can't expect him to be perfect all the time," Girardi said. "But he's the same guy every day, and that's why he's one of the best." Rivera had blown three of five save opportunities bridging the All-Star break, and he also had been hit hard in securing the save for Orlando Hernandez during Wednesday's 4-3 win.

But he worked a scoreless ninth yesterday for his third save in as many games and his 26th of the season in 30 chances. "I'll tell you what, it doesn't frustrate me. First of all, I'm not a robot. Everyone goes through periods like that. You just have to bounce back," Rivera said.

"That's one thing I have; my confidence is always there. If I ever lose my confidence, then I'd be all screwed up." AV g- WW LINDA CATAFFO DWOf NEWS NO SWEAT Andy Pettitte's performance yesterday may finally squelch rumors of an impending trade. Welcome to the big leagues George Stelnbrenner must like nothing better than beating the expansion team Major League Baseball granted to his adopted hometown. The Boss' Yankees have dominated the second-year Tampa Bay Devil Rays through 17 games over two seasons: CO to THIS SEASON OVERALL Record: AT YANKEE STAPWM Record: 8-0 54 16-1 Record: Runs: 93-36 Runs: 44-16 Runs: 33-14 Home Runs: 17-6 Home runs: 7-2 Home runs: 10-2.