NEW YORK - Matt Moore's stuff was satisfying for the Tampa Bay Rays in his return to the major leagues.

Equally as enjoyable for the Rays was the performance of their bullpen.

After Moore pitched 4 2/3 innings, four relievers combined on 4 1/3 scoreless innings and Tampa Bay held on for a 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees Saturday afternoon.

"I thought he was outstanding," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "I was happy for him. In my opinion he looked like a different guy as far as the way he continued to pound the strike zone."

Moore allowed two runs and three hits while throwing 78 pitches in his seventh major league start following Tommy John surgery last year. It was his first start for Tampa Bay since Aug 1, when he was roughed up for six runs and nine hits in three innings, prompting a demotion to Triple-A Durham.

"I thought he was effective," said Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria, who left the game in the sixth inning with a bruised right forearm. "I thought his breaking ball looked sharp and his fastball looked like it had a little bit more life when he was with us when he first came back. He pitched really well in Triple-A so I think he brought a little bit of that fire to this start. So it was good to see him comfortable on the mound again."

Had the start been last week, he likely would have gone past the fifth and given more pitches but with the rosters expanding, Tampa Bay had a nine-man bullpen at its disposal and manager Cash made liberal use of it by employing Brandon Gomes, Xavier Cedeno, Alex Colome and Brad Boxberger to get the final 13 outs.

Moore's showing and the heavy lifting produced by the bullpen enabled the Rays (67-68) to stay within four games of Texas for the second wild card spot.

"It's awesome," Moore said. "I think that's a lot of our identity as a squad. That's what makes us good and allows us to have a chance at the wild card late in the season."

"The bullpen's been doing what the bullpen's been doing all year for us," Longoria said. "They were just quality innings and really high leverage situations and really just fun to watch."

It did not appear early on Moore would not get through five innings as he made 56 pitches through the first four innings while working with a three-run lead. Moore wobbled in the fifth, opening the inning with a walk to catcher John-Ryan Murphy and an RBI double to shortstop Didi Gregorius.

After giving up a run-scoring groundout to center fielder Brett Gardner, Moore issued a 10-pitch walk to left fielder Chris Young and was lifted.

"We got to win the ballgame and we felt like that was the best opportunity for us to win," Cash said. "We played the matchup."

Brandon Gomes walked designated hitter Alex Rodriguez but retired right fielder Carlos Beltran to end the fifth. Xavier Cedeno (4-1) was awarded the win for being the most effective reliever since official scoring rules state starting pitchers who do not complete five innings are ineligible for wins.

Cedeno struck out four in 1 2/3 hitless innings and Alex Colome produced the most stressful outing of the day. Colome recorded the final out of the seventh but loaded the bases with two outs on consecutive singles and a walk.

After pitching around pinch hitter Brian McCann for the walk, Colome retired Gregorius on a sharp lineout to second baseman Logan Forsythe.

"It could have been (a big inning)," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said after his team lost for second time in eight games and fell 1 1/2 games behind Toronto. "The way we swung the bats and how patient we were and our ability to get on base. We started with two outs. It's unfortunate but that's part of the game."

Brad Boxberger finished up with an 11-pitch ninth, notching his 34th save in 39 opportunities.

Tampa Bay's pitching made three runs off New York right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (14-3) stand up.

Center fielder Kevin Kiermaier had an RBI single with two on and two outs in the second. The Rays struck again with two outs and the bases loaded in the third when shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera lined a two-run single to right.

Eovaldi allowed three runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings while taking his first loss in 10 decisions since June 16.

"Even with the struggles, he made some big pitches when he had to," Girardi said.

NOTES: New York CF Jacoby Ellsbury was out of the starting lineup after leaving with flu-like symptoms after the fourth inning Friday. He came in as a pinch hitter on Saturday and went 0-for-2. ... Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash provided updates on injured OF Desmond Jennings (left knee), C Curt Casali (left hamstring) and LHP Jake McGee (left knee). Cash said Jennings took swings off a hitting machine without incident Friday and has done some jogging in the pool. He also said Casali has started throwing and McGee has begun playing catch. Cash said he thinks Jennings could return before the season ends and said he would discuss with McGee about pitching in the final week if the team is out of contention. ... Yankees manager Joe Girardi reiterated LHP CC Sabathia is on track to start Wednesday if his left knee feels good after pitching a four-inning simulated game.