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NEW YORK -- A refreshing reminder of what youth brings to the table blew the Rays' direction on Wednesday afternoon.
The baby-faced troika of Scott Kazmir, Jonny Gomes and Nick Green made the difference in a 5-3 victory in front of 48,452 at Yankee Stadium.

Given the fact that the Rays lost the night before after leading 10-2 made Wednesday's win even sweeter.

"It's a good win, especially after last night," said Rays manager Lou Piniella. "And for our kids to bounce back, I'm proud of them."

Kazmir started for the Rays and got off to a shaky start when hot-hitting Gary Sheffield hit his third home run in two games to put the Yankees up, 2-0.

"I probably had a little more adrenaline going [at the start of the game]," Kazmir said. "Had a few jitters. Then I kind of zoned in."

With the exception of allowing run in the fifth when the Yankees played small ball, the 21-year-old lefty brought his "A" game, retiring the Yankees in order in the second, third, fourth and seventh innings. He also escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth when he retired Russ Johnson on a fly out to end the inning.

"I felt like I mixed up my pitches well -- fastball, slider," Kazmir said.

Kazmir threw a season-high 115 pitches and allowed just four hits while striking out four and walking two.

"I was kind of joking with my teammates that [the Yankees] got all the hits out of their system [Tuesday] night," Kazmir said.

While Tuesday night won't soon be forgotten, the Rays have now won two out of three in this series and have won six of the nine games they've played with the Yankees this season.

"In baseball, every game is different," Piniella said. "It's not like football or basketball. If you get a good pitched game you have a chance to win.

"[Kazmir] is in a learning process. He's getting better at pitching to both sides of the plate and mixing in some changeups. Since Spring Training, the young man has gotten better and better."

Gomes, who was recalled May 2 from Triple-A Durham, brought with him a feisty spirit and some much-needed power, which he demonstrated in the fourth when he homered to left field off Yankees starter Carl Pavano. For Gomes, the blast was his second in two games and it tied the score, 2-2.

Green had been hitless in his last four games (0-for-12) before breaking out with a fifth-inning single.

"My first at-bat, I wasn't comfortable," Green said. "I was just trying to be comfortable."

Green found a comfort level in the seventh inning when he recognized a sinker down and in from Pavano, and hit it over the fence in the shallow section of left field for a three-run homer. Green's heroics erased a 3-2 Yankees lead and put the Rays on top, 5-3.

Once the Rays had the lead, they were hardly home.

Lance Carter began the eighth and retired the first two hitters before giving up a single to Alex Rodriguez. Piniella opted to bring in Danys Baez at that point and the Rays' closer walked the first batter he faced, Hideki Matsui.

By this time, an afternoon rain began to fall. Baez said the ball was getting really wet, which made it difficult for him to get a good grip on the ball and make his pitches break. But he recovered nicely by striking out Ruben Sierra to end the eighth.

Baez retired the first two batters in the ninth before Robinson Cano tripled to bring up Derek Jeter in a rain that had progressed from a drizzle.

Yankees fans smelled a comeback and the raucous crowd had begun to turn up the noise level, when Baez went to his sinker with a 3-2 count. Jeter swung and missed to end the game.

"It's good to come back after one of those kind of days [Tuesday]," Baez said. "We forget about yesterday. We're professional baseball players. It's a tough game and you have to be strong. ... It shows a lot of character for the team to come back and win today."

Now the Rays have a chance to win the series on Thursday. If they manage to pull it off, it will be only the second series they have won at Yankee Stadium in 21 tries.

"If we win tomorrow, that would be huge," Kazmir said. "That would give us a little kick-start going back home."