NEW YORK, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Ben Zobrist touched off a home-run assault Thursday that helped Tampa Bay build a 13-run lead en route to a 15-8 victory over the New York Yankees.
The teams combined for 31 hits, 17 of them by the Rays. Tampa Bay ended a three-game losing streak and moved within two games of idle Boston for the lead in the American League wild card race.
Tampa Bay will open a home series against Toronto on Friday and Boston will visit the Yankees.
The Rays jumped to a 5-0 lead through two innings, Matt Joyce starting the offensive show with a two-run single in the first.
Zobrist hit a two-run homer in the third and both B.J. Upton and Johnny Damon had two-run shots in the fourth. Upton also tripled in a run in the second and Zobrist contributed a sacrifice fly in the fifth.
Four of the Tampa Bay runs were unearned thanks to four New York errors. The loss came one day after the Yankees had wrapped up the American League East title.
Matt Moore (1-0), making his third major league start for the Rays, went five innings to get the win. He faced 20 batters and struck out 11 of them, giving up four hits with a walk.
Bartolo Colon (8-10) was charged with the loss after giving up five earned runs on seven hits in three innings.
