The Yankees broke loose for 13 runs in the eighth inning behind Bernie Williams and Gary Sheffield, overcoming an early eight-run deficit to beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 20-11 last night. Williams put the Yankees ahead with a bases-loaded triple in the eighth, and Sheffield had a pair of three-run homers. Derek Jeter tied a career high with five hits and scored a career-best five runs.

Sheffield had seven RBI and Williams drove in five runs for New York, which trailed 10-2 after four innings. Yankees starter Randy Johnson lasted just three innings in his shortest outing in nearly five years, allowing seven runs.

Sheffield, Alex Rodriguez, and Hideki Matsui hit consecutive homers in the eighth, and Jorge Posada also connected for the Yankees in the inning, who had a 13-run second inning during a 19-8 victory over Tampa Bay on April 18.

Sheffield’s three-run shot and Williams’s RBI double in the fifth off Hideo Nomo began the comeback. Jeter homered in the sixth to make it 10-7, then the Yankees sent 16 batters to the plate in the eighth, a half-inning that took 35 minutes.

Trailing 11-7, Robinson Cano and Jeter led off with singles, and Cano scored on pinch-hitter Ruben Sierra’s grounder. Sheffield and Rodriguez singled, chasing Franklin Nunez.

Matsui greeted Travis Harper (1-6) with an RBI double. Jason Giambi was intentionally walked – as the crowd chanted “Bernie Williams!” – and Williams hit the first pitch over center fielder Damon Hollins’ head for a triple to make it 13-11.

Posada then homered, and after Cano flied out, Jeter and Sierra singled.

Sheffield then hit his second three run shot of the game to make it 18-11. Roridguez hit his 20th homer and Matsui hit a drive into the black batters’ eye in straightaway center field.

Buddy Groom (1-0), the fifth of six Yankees pitchers, worked 1 1 / 3 scoreless innings for the win.

In an outing that was as perplexing as it was brief, Johnson (7-6) opened looking as dominant as he was in his two previous outings, when he allowed just a run in 16 innings. He struck out the first two batters and got Aubrey Huff to ground out after giving up a single to Jorge Cantu.

But he started the second with a four pitch walk to Eduardo Perez, who had two home runs against Johnson on April 19, and an out later gave up consecutive homers to Hollins and Kevin Cash, both landing well beyond the left-field wall and riling up the Yankees’ fans.

Alex Gonzalez singled and Carl Crawford, who had four hits, had his third triple in his last six games, drawing loud boos from the crowd of 44,241.

Julio Lugo added an RBI infield hit – the fifth straight batter to reach base – to make it 5-0. Cantu’s liner to second base for the second out elicited a derisive cheer.

The Yankees got a run back in the bottom half on Giambi’s ground-rule double and Williams’s RBI single, but the Devil Rays made it 7-1 in the third when Perez led off with a single and Jonny Gomes homered.

It was the second time this season Johnson has allowed three home runs in a game after not giving up three in an outing since Aug. 15, 2000. He also gave up three at Boston on April 14.

The three innings was Johnson’s shortest outing since August 25, 2000, against the Mets for Arizona. He had not gone less than six innings in 14 starts for the Yankees.

The Devil Rays scored three more off just-recalled reliever Scott Proctor in the fourth. Pinch-hitter Travis Lee drove in a run on second baseman Cano’s error with the bases loaded and Hollins had a two-run single.

Sheffield hit a three-run homer and Williams added an RBI double to chase Nomo with two outs in the fifth to make it 10-7.