by MARK FEINSAND, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS , The Star-Ledger

B.J. Upton did most of that damage, becoming the first player in Tampa Bay's 12-year history to hit for the cycle -- accomplishing the feat in the first five innings before finishing the night 5-for-5 with a career-high six RBI.

Sabathia insisted all week that winning 20 games wasn't important to him. Based on the force with which he threw his glove into the dugout wall after being pulled from the game in the third inning, it may have meant more than he had let on.

"I think it was more about the way the game went than the 20 wins," Joe Girardi said. "I'm sure there's a little frustration, but CC has talked about where the real prize is. That starts next week."

Sabathia was knocked around for nine runs (five earned) on eight hits and five walks, ending his superb debut season in pinstripes with a big fat clunker.

"It's definitely disappointing any time you lose," Sabathia said. "It's tough to go out there and pitch for individual things. It was a tough night, but I'll be ready to bounce back."

There won't be a 20-game winner in the majors this year, as both Sabathia and St. Louis' Adam Wainwright missed out on the milestone last night. Sabathia finished the regular season with a 19-8 record and 3.37 ERA, his 19 wins marking the most by a first-year Yankee since Tommy John went 21-9 in 1979.

His next start comes on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the ALDS against either the Tigers or Twins, and a win in that game will surely help erase the sting of his dismal performance last night.

"It just didn't happen," Girardi said. "If you're going to have a start that's not good, now is the time to have it. I don't make too much of it."

The Yankees survived a scare in the first inning, when David Price hit Mark Teixeira on his left hand with a pitch. Teixeira stayed on the ground for a few minutes before jogging to first base, saying after the game that the ball only "grazed" him. Neither Teixeira nor Girardi would say whether they thought the pitch was intentional.

"He's okay, that's the biggest thing," Girardi said. "We'll move on and play another game tomorrow."

Upton tripled in the first and doubled in the third against Sabathia, homered in the fourth off Jonathan Albaladejo, then completed his cycle with a fifth-inning single off Dave Robertson.

Things didn't start out very well for Sabathia, who gave up a leadoff single to Jason Bartlett before Carl Crawford reached on a rare error by Teixeira. Sabathia walked Evan Longoria to load the bases, but he put himself in position to escape the bases-loaded, no-out jam.

Ben Zobrist lined out to Robinson Cano, then Willy Aybar popped out to Teixeira, who made an off-balance catch by the front row of the stands before throwing home to prevent a run from scoring. Gabe Kapler walked on a 3-2 pitch to force in the Rays' first run, then Upton lined the next pitch over Cano's head into right field, where it got by a diving Nick Swisher for a three-run triple and a 4-0 Rays lead.

"I was just all over the place from pitch one," Sabathia said. "No command of the fastball, the changeup wasn't there; I just didn't have the stuff. It was just one of those games I couldn't get anything going."

Melky Cabrera singled in a run against David Price in the second, but the Rays answered by loading the bases again in the bottom of the inning, this time with one out. Sabathia limited the damage to one run, but his night was about to get considerably worse.

With one out in the third, Upton doubled, Dioner Navarro walked and Fernando Perez singled, boosting the lead to 6-1. Sabathia hit Bartlett with a pitch, loading the bases for a third consecutive inning.

Sabathia fanned Crawford for the second out, but Longoria singled to score two more runs. Ben Zobrist tacked on another run with an RBI single, pushing the score to 9-1 to end Sabathia's night, bringing the last intriguing storyline for the Yankees in the regular season to an end.

"It's disappointing, because we really wanted to get him 20 wins," Girardi said. "But his next start is obviously a big start, so we're looking forward to that." Tigers fall, Twins win, lead is one. Page 19

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