New York ? Well on the way to his 200th career victory, tough guy Kevin Brown got a bit misty.

Blame it on the weather, rather than emotion.

Working on a dreary, drizzly afternoon, Brown reached the milestone a game after fellow Yankees ace Mike Mussina and once again led New York over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, 5-1, Wednesday.

“The mound was definitely slick. It was tough keeping your spikes,” Brown said.

Still, the setting made it special as Brown became the 101st pitcher in major-league history to win No. 200. Brown and Mussina are the first teammates to accomplish the feat in the same season.

“It’s great to be here and get it here,” Brown said. “It was a wonderful atmosphere, a great backdrop for it to happen.”

Brown kept the final ball as a souvenir, but said he wasn’t much of a numbers person.

“Honestly, I really haven’t thought too much about it,” he said. “It seems like we’ve been bouncing all over the world the last month and a half. I’ve been busy getting unpacked and moved in.”

Brown beat the Devil Rays for the third time this season, defeating them at the Tokyo Dome, Tropicana Field and Yankee Stadium. In all three outings, he gave up one run in seven innings.

New York's Kevin Brown delivers against Tampa Bay. Brown earned his 200th career victory in the Yankees' 5-1 win Wednesday in New York.

Brown was the first pitcher to make his first three starts for the Yankees against the same team since Tom Morgan in 1951, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Pitching in short sleeves and often cleaning his muddy cleats, Brown gave up five hits. He also issued his first walk of the season after going 15 innings without one.

Yankees manager Joe Torre managed to draw a quick smile from Brown during a late trip to the mound. Brown was getting on himself and Torre told him he was more than OK.

“He’s never really happy with himself,” Torre said.

Brown (3-0) is 200-131 in a career that started in 1986 with Texas. The 39-year-old righty also played for Baltimore, Florida, San Diego and Los Angeles before an offseason trade that sent Jeff Weaver to the Dodgers.

Mussina beat the Chicago White Sox on Sunday, making it to 200 on his fifth try. The Yankees were off Monday and rained out Tuesday.

In last year’s regular-season finale, New York’s David Wells posted his 200th victory.

As for a reason he and Brown both made it this year, Mussina said, “That’s because we’re all old.”

“A lot of pitchers have come and gone and not won 200 games or gotten close,” said Mussina, 35. “I know what it means to him and what it meant to me.”

Jason Giambi hit a three-run homer off Mark Hendrickson (0-1) in the first inning. Brown protected the early lead, with his sinker helping produce three double plays.

“He keeps getting out when he needs them,” Tampa Bay’s Tino Martinez said. “We just couldn’t seem to break through with men on base. We had our chances.”

Athletics 9, Rangers 4

Arlington, Texas — Jermaine Dye homered twice to drive in four runs and Bobby Crosby hit a three-run shot to lead Oakland over Texas. Dye’s homers, which came in consecutive innings, staked the A’s to a 6-0 lead. His ninth career multihomer game pushed him into the AL lead with five homers. Unlike Barry Zito a night earlier, Mark Redman didn’t need all of his big lead.

Twins 10, Indians 6

Cleveland — Henry Blanco drove in three runs with a career-high four hits and Carlos Silva earned his first win as a starter for Minnesota. Blanco, a career .219 hitter, went 4-for-4, including a two-run homer off Jeff D’Amico (1-1) in a three-run third inning. He also doubled home a run in a three-run eighth. The attendance of 14,237 was the lowest at Jacobs Field, which opened in 1994. It was the smallest crowd at an Indians home game since 11,751 were at old Cleveland Stadium on Sept. 20, 1993.

Tigers 5, Blue Jays 3

Detroit — Carlos Pena hit a two-run double in a four-run first inning, and Detroit held on to beat Toronto. The Tigers have won six of their first eight games, one season after beginning 0-9 and finishing with an AL-record 119 losses.

Detroit, off to its best start since 1985, has scored at least five runs in each of its opening eight games for the first time, eclipsing the six in a row at the start of the 1961 season.

Angels 6, Mariners 5

Anaheim, Calif. — Jeff DaVanon, a late-inning defensive replacement, hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the ninth and Tim Salmon homered and drove in three runs to lift Anaheim over Seattle. Bret Boone homered for the Mariners, whose 1-7 start is the worst in the franchise’s 28-year history. Troy Percival (1-0), the Angels’ career saves leader, couldn’t protect a 5-4 lead in the ninth inning and was charged with his first blown save.