ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Music blared in the Tampa Bay clubhouse, and four large, flat-screen televisions mounted around a column in the middle of the room were tuned to the same in-house channel displaying the AL East standings.
The surprising Rays are on top, and the sputtering Yankees are on the bottom. No one was gloating, though.
"I want us to celebrate hard for 30 minutes post-game and then move on. I want us to dwell on a loss for no more than 30 minutes," manager Joe Maddon said after Thursday's 5-2 victory dumped New York into the cellar.
"Sometimes I get away from my own rule on the negative side. But I think the guys are handling this very well. It's the confidence that's been gained. It's the momentum that you create. … It's a feeling that did not exist before, so first of all, you have to nurture it and grow it, and then once you got it, you have to do everything you can to hold on to it because it can go away."
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Scott Kazmir shined in his first start since agreeing to a $28.5 million contract extension Wednesday, and Akinori Iwamura and Shawn Riggans homered off Ian Kennedy to help Tampa Bay win for the seventh time in eight games.
Kazmir (2-1) allowed three singles in six scoreless innings, even though he is still trying to regain his form after spending April on the disabled list with a left elbow strain sustained in spring training.
"I'll take it," said Kazmir, who also gave up three hits in six scoreless innings against the Angels in his previous start.
"I feel like I'm fighting myself just a little bit. The velocity is not where I want it right now. … It feels like I'm just on the verge. The next start or two, it feels like everything is going to come together."
Tampa Bay (24-17), which started play in 1998, has been alone atop the division standings for three consecutive days for the first time. The Rays, who have the best record in the AL, won three of four from New York and have won six of seven series.
The Yankees (20-22) have lost six of nine and got another shaky performance from Kennedy (0-3), recalled from Triple-A for his sixth start of the season.
Things do not get any easier this weekend. The Yankees head home to face Johan Santana and the crosstown rival Mets in the opener of the Subway Series tonight.
"You face a lot of good pitchers all year long," manager Joe Girardi said. "He's one of the best in baseball. That doesn't mean that you can't score runs. You've got to take advantage of your opportunities."
New York, struggling with Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada on the DL, was shut out until the seventh inning. The Yankees scored six runs in the series, only two off Rays starters.
"We're much better than this. We can't start blaming injuries. It's part of the game," outfielder Johnny Damon said. "We just have to deal with it, and we haven't dealt with it the right way."
