NEW YORK -- The first five games against the New York Yankees this season had been very frustrating for the Tampa Bay Rays, who could rarely get a clutch hit and lost four close ones.

When left fielder Steven Souza Jr. stood on second and watched first baseman James Loney slap a full-count pitch into shallow right field, there was little doubt in his mind that he would try to score the go-ahead run.

Souza did just that, racing home on Loney's two-out infield single in the top of the 13th inning, lifting the Rays to a 3-2 victory over the Yankees on Wednesday.

Souza reached when he drew a one-out walk against left-hander Chasen Shreve (1-1) and advanced on a groundout by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. After the Yankees intentionally walked third baseman Evan Longoria to get a lefty-lefty matchup, Loney got ahead in the count at 3-0 before getting to a full count.

"I thought it should be (enough to score)," Loney said. "I knew I was going to be safe, so I figured if he kept going, I figured at least you got to try."

Loney ended his at-bat with a ground ball that reached short right field when second baseman Stephen Drew needed to take several steps to make a sliding stop. By the time Drew popped up, there was no play at first and Souza was well on his way home as third base coach Charlie Montoyo waved him around the base.

"I knew that Drew was deep, so it was either going to be a close play at home or a close play at home," Souza said. "We went for it."

Loney's hit was Tampa Bay's first since the sixth inning and also was the Rays' fourth hit in 43 at-bat with runners in scoring position against New York this season. It also came after a checked swing earlier in the at-bat.

"It's a huge victory in a long game," Souza said. "It's good that we beat those guys. They were kicking our behind for a while."

Rays manager Kevin Cash said, "It gets frustrating when you play good baseball and you don't have the reward. I think we have played good baseball against the Yankees, we just didn't have much to show for it until today."

Loney's hit equaled the latest game-winning hit of career. It was his first in the 13th since hitting a solo home run on July 24, 2010, for the Los Angeles Dodgers to beat the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium.

"Two infield hits in one day is always fun," Loney said with a chuckle.

Loney might not have the chance at the winning hit if not for Tampa Bay's bullpen. Five relievers combined for seven scoreless innings while working out of trouble in each of the extra innings.

Brad Boxberger stranded two in the 10th, Brandon Gomes (1-1) struck out designated hitter Alex Rodriguez for the second out of the 11th and escaped the inning before stranding two in the 12th.

Ernesto Frieri allowed a one-out single to left fielder Chris Young but posted his second save when Rodriguez bounced into a double play.

"Our bullpen was incredible," Cash said. "Our bullpen what they did today, they stood out."

Rodriguez remained at 659 home runs, one shy of Hall of Famer Willie Mays for fourth place on the career list. He struck out three times against Tampa Bay left-hander Drew Smyly, went 0-for-6 and saw his average drop 22 points to .232.

The Yankees lost their second lengthy extra-inning game at home this season and struck out three more times Wednesday than in their 19-inning marathon to the Boston Red Sox on April 10. New York had a season-high 16 strikeouts, their most in any game since Sept. 29, 2013, at Houston.

"It's frustrating because we had some opportunities late in the game and weren't able to get the hit that we needed," New York manager Joe Girardi said.

Long before Loney's hit ended the nearly four-hour game, both teams received strong outings from their starting pitchers.

New York's Michael Pineda allowed two runs and six h