NEW YORK (Interstat) — Gerrit Cole threw six scoreless innings in his return from elbow ligament replacement surgery, but a four-run eighth inning lifted the Tampa Bay Rays to a 4-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday night.

Austin Wells homered in the fifth off Nick Martinez for a 1-0 lead. The Rays, who outhit the Yankees 8-11, answered in the eighth. Jonathan Aranda doubled in a run, and Richie Palacios followed with a two-run single. Ryan Vilade added a sacrifice fly, making it 4-1. Jazz Chisholm Jr. tripled in a run in the bottom half, but Bryan Baker closed for his 14th save.

Ian Seymour (3-0) earned the win with 1 2/3 innings of relief. Tim Hill (0-2) took the loss. The Rays improved to a big league-best 34-15, extending their AL East lead to 5 1/2 games over the Yankees (30-22). Aaron Judge went 0 for 4, extending his RBI drought to 11 games.

Attendance was 41,358. Time of game: 2:46.