NEW YORK (Interstat) — Gerrit Cole pitched six scoreless innings in his return from elbow ligament replacement surgery, but shortstop José Caballero’s error sparked a four-run eighth inning that lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday night at Yankee Stadium II.

The Rays, who have the best record in the major leagues at 34-15, won for the 16th time in 19 games and improved to 4-0 against the Yankees this season. Tampa Bay opened a 5½-game lead in the American League East over New York, which fell to 30-22 with its third straight loss and 10th in 14 games.

Cole, making his first start since undergoing the surgery commonly known as Tommy John, allowed two hits, struck out two and walked one over six scoreless frames. The right-hander threw 78 pitches, 52 for strikes, in a controlled outing that appeared to set the stage for a Yankees victory.

New York scratched across a run in the fifth inning against Rays starter Nick Martinez. Catcher Austin Wells led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run to right-center field, his fourth homer of the season and first since April 28. The blast gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

Martinez worked six innings, allowing one run on nine hits with one strikeout and no walks. He escaped trouble in the first, third and fourth innings, stranding a runner at second base each time.

Trent Grisham led the Yankees’ offense with three hits, including two doubles, but the Yankees could not add to their lead against Martinez or the Tampa Bay bullpen.

The game turned dramatically in the top of the eighth. With one out, Rays leadoff man Chandler Simpson reached base on a fielding error by Caballero, who misplayed a routine ground ball. That miscue opened the door for a four-run rally.

Junior Caminero followed with a single to center field, putting runners at first and third. Jonathan Aranda then doubled sharply to center, scoring Simpson and sending Caminero to third. Yankees reliever Tim Hill, who entered after the double, intentionally walked Yandy Díaz to load the bases.

Richie Palacios delivered a two-run single on a ground ball that deflected off Hill’s glove and into center field, scoring Caminero and Aranda. Palacios moved to second on the throw, and Díaz advanced to third. Ryan Vilade, pinch-hitting for Jonny DeLuca, lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Díaz and giving the Rays a 4-1 lead.

Hill was charged with four runs, three earned, on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. He took the loss, falling to 0-2.

The Yankees answered in the bottom of the eighth. Cody Bellinger doubled to right field with one out, and after Paul Goldschmidt struck out, Jazz Chisholm Jr. tripled to right, driving in Bellinger to cut the deficit to 4-2. Chisholm finished with two hits and an RBI.

But Rays reliever Ian Seymour, who entered in the seventh, retired Caballero on a groundout to end the inning. Seymour worked 1⅔ innings, allowing one run on two hits with two strikeouts, and earned the win to improve to 3-0.

Bryan Baker pitched a scoreless ninth for his 14th save of the season. He struck out one and walked one while inducing a game-ending flyout from Aaron Judge to the center-field warning track with a runner on base.

Judge went 0 for 4 with a walk and a strikeout, extending his hitless streak to 1 for 24 and dropping his batting average to .245. He has not driven in a run in a career-high 11 consecutive games, the longest drought of his professional career.

The game featured strong defensive plays from both sides. In the third inning, Rays right fielder Jonny DeLuca threw out Grisham at home plate as he attempted to score on a single by Ben Rice. Catcher Nick Fortes applied the tag to keep the game scoreless.

Tampa Bay’s offensive attack was led by Simpson, who had two hits and scored a run. Aranda doubled and drove in a run, and Palacios collected two RBIs. The Rays finished with eight hits.

The Yankees outhit Tampa Bay 11-8 but left eight runners on base. Grisham had three hits, and Bellinger added two hits, including a double. Wells homered and walked in his four plate appearances.

New York’s bullpen, which had been effective for most of the game, faltered in the eighth. Before Hill’s appearance, Fernando Cruz struck out two in a scoreless seventh, and David Bednar struck out three in a perfect sixth.

Cole’s performance was a bright spot for the Yankees. He needed only 63 pitches to get through the first five innings, and he retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced. His fastball touched 95 mph, and he located his slider effectively.

Martinez, who had allowed one earned run in each of his previous two starts, kept the Yankees off the board until Wells’ home run. He induced 10 groundouts and did not issue a walk, matching his season best for innings pitched.

The Rays have won three straight games and 12 of their last 14. They finished a three-game sweep of Baltimore earlier in the week and have not lost a series since April 22 against Cincinnati.

The Yankees, meanwhile, have dropped 10 of 14 and lost three consecutive home games for the first time this season. They have scored two runs or fewer in seven of those 14 contests.

The teams meet again Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Tampa Bay will send left-hander Shane McClanahan to the mound, while New York will counter with right-hander Luis Gil.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Tampa Bay Rays 7, New York Yankees 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave the Yankees a 58.40 percent probability to win. New York had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of six runs went over the over-under line of eight.