Yankees Make Another Mess Against Rays PETERSBURG, Fla. - Dewayne Wise hit a home run; Derek Jeter and Raul Ibanez each had a couple of hits; and Clay Rapada struck out the only batter he faced. The rest of the Yankees? With few exceptions, they were terrible. In one of their worst games of the season, the Yankees committed three errors and made pitching mistakes, coaching mistakes and base-running miscues in a 7-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Russell Martin was the worst culprit, committing two errors that led to three unearned runs while going 0 for 4. The final indignity: Fernando Rodney struck him out to end the game as the Yankees lost for the ninth consecutive time at Tropicana Field. The Yankees, who had the third-fewest errors (36) in the American League entering the game, have lost four of their last six. "That was pretty much my loss," said Martin, whose batting average fell to .182. Offensively, I've been pretty bad all year. Defensively, normally I can salvage it. But today was a bad day over all. Martin was not alone. A day after Mark Teixeira's seventh-inning error led to a defeat, the Yankees made three more miscues. And the third-base coach Rob Thomson admitted it was his fault when Robinson Cano was thrown out at the plate. Cano also lost track of outs in the first inning and was doubled off first base on Nick Swisher's fly ball. "I thought there were two outs," Cano said. I should have known. There is no excuse for that. Eric Chavez, who was filling in for Teixeira, also made an error. Things have gone so awry for the Yankees that Ivan Nova, their starting pitcher who rarely loses, fell to 9-3, sustaining his first defeat since May 19. Nova had troubled locating his fastball and gave up three earned runs. He lost for the first time in 17 road starts and for the third time in his last 32 starts. The Yankees" mistakes contributed to three runs by the Rays in the third inning that tied the score, 3-3, and two more in the seventh. Trailing by 5-4 in the sixth, the Yankees had a chance to tie the score, but a crisp defensive play by the Rays cut down Cano at home. Cano led off with a single to right center and was on first base with one out when Ibanez doubled down the right-field line. Right fielder Ben Zobrist came up with the ball and fired it to the cutoff man, second baseman Sean Rodriguez. Thomson, who had success being aggressive earlier in the game when he challenged Desmond Jennings's arm, tried again, but should not have. "No excuse," Thomson said, uttering the refrain of the night. It was a poor decision. I got a little too aggressive, and it kind of took the wind out of our sails at the time. I always try to be aggressive, but that was too much. Rodriguez made a strong relay throw to Jose Molina, who applied the tag to the sliding Cano. It was the third close play at the plate in the game, and the second to go in the Rays" favor. With two outs in the third and Elliot Johnson at second, B. J. Upton drove a base hit to left. Wise made a strong throw home, and as Johnson came sliding in, Martin scooped up the ball on a short hop and dived to apply the tag. Had he made it, the Yankees would have jogged off the field with a 3-0 lead intact. But in a quick, dusty play at the plate, Martin dropped the ball, and Johnson was safe. Even if the error ruling was harsh, a catcher feels compelled to complete the play once the ball is in his glove and he makes the tag. "I need to make that play," Martin said. I put the tag down, and his foot hit the glove. No excuse. Jeff Keppinger followed with a two-run single, which was followed by Chavez's error, although that did not cost the Yankees a run. In the seventh, the Rays had runners at first and third with one out, and Martin threw the ball into center field trying to get Upton stealing second. The play was called from the bench, and even though it was risky with the speedy Jennings at third, Martin again took the blame. In fact, Jennings was breaking on the play and would have scored anyway. But Upton went to third and scored on a single by Zobrist with two outs. Manager Joe Girardi said he did not see a worrisome defensive trend. "You've got to remember these are actually human beings," Girardi said. These aren't robots, and this is not a game that you play on TV in a video game. They are going to have nights where they have errors.  Pedro Feliciano, the left-handed pitcher who has not thrown a pitch for the Yankees since signing with them on Jan. 3, 2011, may finally return to action this year as he predicted. Feliciano, who had shoulder surgery in September 2011, threw a bullpen session in front of Joe Girardi at the team's minor league complex in Tampa, Fla. ... The Yankees" nine straight losses at Tropicana Field are the most at an opponent's stadium since they lost 15 to the Texas Rangers in Arlington from 1989-91. ... Robinson Cano drove in at least one run for the seventh straight game, a career high. ... Dewayne Wise has homered in three of his last five starts.