NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees have been feeling good for most of the last month.

Their confidence seems to increase each time Masahiro Tanaka takes the mound and when rookie Gary Sanchez swings.

Tanaka delivered another outstanding start by striking out 10 in 7 1/3 innings while Sanchez homered and drove in another run as the Yankees ran their winning streak to a season-high seven games with a 5-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.

"He has really stepped it up," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Tanaka. "You look at the second half, he has really stepped it up and performed at a high level. So you feel good every time he takes the mound."

Tanaka (13-4) won his sixth straight decision and recorded his seventh double-digit strikeout game. He fanned at least one batter in six innings and has 50 strikeouts over his last 46 1/3 innings since his last loss on Aug. 2.

"The thought process is you've been on a good roll and obviously you want to keep that roll going," Tanaka said through an interpreter. "So in that sense you want to go out there and pitch a really good game."

Tanaka did not seem like he going to get to the eighth on a day when Luis Severino and Dellin Betances were unavailable. He had 41 pitches through the second inning but after breezing through a six-pitch seventh, Tanaka started the eighth.

Tanaka's most significant trouble occurred when the game was still scoreless. Logan Forsythe opened the sixth with a long double and was sacrificed to third by Nick Franklin, but remained there due to an outstanding defensive play by right fielder Rob Refsnyder.

Refsnyder fielded Longoria's liner in one motion, stayed on his feet and quickly made the throw to the plate to prevent Forsythe from scoring.

Tanaka lost his shutout bid when Bobby Wilson's sixth home run barely cleared the left field wall. He walked off the mound to an ovation after hitting Forsythe.

Adam Warren hit Franklin but retired Evan Longoria on a double play and the Yankees added two insurance runs in the eighth.

When Tanaka was handed his last loss, it was the day before Sanchez was called up and the Yankees were 53-53. Since then the Yankees (76-65) have gone 23-12 and are within three games of first place in the AL East.

Sanchez has helped as much as Tanaka by hitting 13 home runs. He became the fifth player to get 13 home runs in his first 35 games, has reached in 23 of 24 games and hit in 20 of his last 24 games.

The rookie's latest home run occurred four pitches after the Yankees took a 2-0 lead against Chris Archer on Jacoby Ellsbury's two-run home run. Following Ellsbury's eighth homer, Sanchez drove a 1-1 pitch over the left-center field fence and into the visiting bullpen.

"I think the combination is really (working) well," Tanaka said. "He only caught me a couple of times in spring training and we had that bond but I feel everything's working well between us."

Sanchez ended his 35th game by increasing his RBI total to 24 with a sacrifice fly in the eighth. With runners at second and third, the Rays appeared to call for an intentional walk but the first pitch was not outside enough and Sanchez drove it to the warning track in center field.

"It's a great job by Gary Sanchez to be ready to hit there," Girardi said.

While the Yankees lauded Sanchez's swing, it hardly thrilled the Rays.

"As far as the eighth inning is concerned, I'm not going to really talk about it other than to say it's embarrassing," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. "That's embarrassing, but we're not going to talk about it any further than that."

Ellsbury tagged on Sanchez's sacrifice fly and scored the final run on Didi Gregorius' sacrifice fly.

Archer (8-18) tied Tanyon Sturtze's 2002 team record for losses by allowing three runs and four hits in seven innings. He has dropped his last five decisions to the Yankees after winning his first five.

"He was outstanding," Cash said. "That's as good as we've seen him all year."

NOTES: Tampa Bay SS Matt Duffy (left heel) underwent successful surgery Friday afternoon. He will in a splint and on crutches for 2 1/2 weeks and is expected to make a complete recovery by spring training. ... Yankees RHP Michael Pineda appeared frustrated at being taken out one out shy of qualifying for a victory Friday and manager Joe Girardi said he did not think Pineda was showing him up by staring blankly. ... Rays LHP Justin Marks is the third pitcher to pitch three scoreless and hitless innings and issue at least five walks according to baseballreference.com. The others were Pat Zachary for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 4, 1984 versus Cincinnati and Walter Anderson with the Philadelphia Athletics against the Chicago White Sox on May 14, 1917. ... Five of New York's minor league affiliates have made postseason play and Friday Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre clinched a berth to the Governors' Cup Championship Series.