ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Interstat) — Jonathan Aranda’s two-out, walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning capped a frantic extra-inning rally and lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 5-4 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday night at George Steinbrenner Field.

The Yankees took a one-run lead in the top of the 10th, but the Rays responded with two in the bottom half against reliever David Bednar to even their season record at 7-7 and secure their second straight win in the series. New York fell to 8-6.

The decisive rally began with the automatic runner, Cedric Mullins, on second. Chandler Simpson laid down a perfect bunt single to third, moving Mullins to third. Taylor Walls then executed a safety squeeze bunt back to the mound, scoring Mullins to tie the game and allowing Simpson to advance to third. After an intentional walk to Yandy Díaz loaded the bases, Hunter Feduccia struck out swinging for the first out.

Aranda then stepped in and grounded a 2-2 pitch from Bednar just past the dive of second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., scoring Simpson and setting off a celebration at home plate.

The most important part of the game was the Rays’ execution in the 10th inning. Facing a deficit, they utilized small ball and situational hitting to perfection. Simpson’s bunt single and Walls’ run-scoring safety squeeze applied immediate pressure and erased the Yankees’ lead without the benefit of an outfield hit. That set the stage for Aranda’s game-winning hit against a drawn-in infield, a stark contrast to the power often associated with late-game heroics.

Bednar took the loss, his second of the season. Cole Sulser, who worked a scoreless top of the 10th, earned the win.

The game was a tense pitchers’ duel for much of the night, headlined by strong starts from New York’s Max Fried and Tampa Bay’s Nick Martinez. Fried delivered eight solid innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out six. Martinez, the top star for Tampa Bay, kept the Yankees in check for 4 2/3 innings, yielding one run on five hits.

New York struck first in the second inning when Austin Wells led off with a solo home run to right field off Martinez. Tampa Bay answered immediately in the bottom half, with Junior Caminero doubling and scoring on a single by Jonny DeLuca.

The Rays took a 2-1 lead in the sixth. Walls singled, advanced to third on a Ryan Vilade single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Aranda.

The Yankees responded in the eighth against the Tampa Bay bullpen. Pinch-runner Randal Grichuk, running for Giancarlo Stanton who walked, and Chisholm, who doubled, both scored on a two-run double by José Caballero to put New York ahead 3-2.

Tampa Bay again answered in the home half of the eighth. Pinch-runner Chandler Simpson, on for Nick Fortes who doubled, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a Díaz single to tie the game at 3-3.

Both teams threatened in the ninth but failed to score. In the 10th, the Yankees’ automatic runner, Grichuk, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a two-out single by Caballero, his third RBI of the game, to give New York a 4-3 lead.

The Rays’ bullpen, after Martinez’s departure, was exceptional. Ian Seymour, Griffin Jax, Kevin Kelly and Hunter Bigge combined for 4 1/3 perfect innings of relief with five strikeouts from the sixth through the ninth to keep the game tied and set up the extra-inning drama.

Attendance was 21,620 and the game took 2 hours, 51 minutes.

The teams conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon.