ST. PETERSBURG -- A seven-run third inning fueled a 9-2 Yankees win over the Rays on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay wore a second consecutive loss for the first time since Aug. 17-18 at Boston and lost consecutive home games for the first time since Aug. 3-5 against the White Sox. The Rays are 2-4 since a five-game winning streak.
Old friend Adeiny Hechavarria got the Yankees started in the the third with his sixth home run of the season, a leadoff shot off Jake Faria. The inning continued to spiral out of control when Brett Gardner tripled and Andrew McCutchen walked before Aaron Judge lined out to Faria, who just did manage to get his glove up to make the catch on the 109-mph comebacker.
• Faria somehow snags scorching liner
Andrew Kittredge took over from Faria and Luke Voit greeted him with an RBI double. Kittredge intentionally walked Giancarlo Stanton to load the bases. Jalen Beeks took over and promptly walked Neil Walker to force home the Yankees' third run.
Facing Gary Sanchez with two outs in the third, Beeks threw a 3-1 fastball and the Yankees' slugger deposited the pitch into the left-field stands, putting the Yankees up 7-0.

"I thought that third inning, we gave them too much, and then they capitalized on it," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "They're too talented not to, if you keep giving them opportunity after opportunity."
Faria took the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in 2 1/3 innings. The Rays hope to get Faria back to the form that saw him go 16-14 in 2017, his rookie season with the Rays.
"Jake set the bar for himself pretty high last year," Cash said. "And we've got to do everything we can to get him back to that comfort, that confidence. Look, the home run to Hech, that's going to happen. It was the walk that kind of added to it."

"The third inning didn't go ideally," Faria said. "But physically, I felt good."
Brandon Lowe's bases-loaded double off Luis Severino in the third drove home two, but Ji-Man Choi was thrown out at home on the play. Choi collided with Sanchez at the plate, coming away with concussion-like symptoms and lacerating his ear -- a cut that required stitches. Choi was cleared of having a concussion but will continue in the concussion protocol.

PHAM STREAKING
Tommy Pham has hit safely in 26 of his last 27 games, batting .396/.476/.717 over that span. He has reached base in all 27 of those games, giving him the longest such streak of his career and the longest active streak in the American League. The last Ray with a longer on-base streak was Evan Longoria (34) spanning two seasons, Sept. 19, 2012-April 23, 2013.

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
With one out in the fifth and a runner on third, Walker popped up in front of the Rays' dugout. Beeks darted off the mound to give chase, making a sliding basket catch in foul territory for the second out of the inning.

HE SAID IT
"I threw my hands up to get my head out of the way, and the ball went into my glove. … Never seen anything that hard coming at my face before." -- Faria, on Judge's line drive in the third

MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
The Yankees challenged in the sixth when Judge was called out at first for the third out of the inning. After a review of 52 seconds, the call was overturned, giving Judge an infield single.

UP NEXT
Ryne Stanek gets the nod on Wednesday when the Rays host the Yankees in a 7:10 p.m. ET contest at Tropicana Field. Since the beginning of June, Stanek is 1-2 with a 2.35 ERA in 48 appearances (25 starts). Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka, a candidate to pitch in the AL Wild Card Game next week, will start for the Yankees.