Gerrit Cole took a shutout into the fifth inning to run his unbeaten streak to 26 games, Aaron Judge hit his major league-leading eighth homer and the New York Yankees posted an 8-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in the first game of a seven-inning doubleheader Saturday in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Tampa Bay came back to take the second game of the doubleheader 5-3.

Cole allowed three runs on six hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out a season-high 10 hitters and walked one. He threw 107 pitches but did not qualify for the win.

Cole remained unbeaten since May 27, 2019, and it is the fourth-longest streak in baseball history, four behind Roger Clemens (1998-1999).

Judge hit a two-run homer in the sixth off Sean Gilmartin. It was another three-HR game for the Yankees, who also received a two-run shot from Mike Ford and Giancarlo Stanton's solo home run. It marked the 86th time the Yankees hit at least three homers in a game since the start of the 2018 season.

Gio Urshela drove in three runs, hitting a two-run double in the third and lifting a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Ji-Man Choi hit an RBI double and Jose Martinez hit a two-run homer for Tampa Bay, which lost for only the fifth time in 26 regular-season home games since Aug. 21, 2019.

Cole recorded his 36th career double-digit strikeout game and reached the mark by fanning Yandy Diaz with a runner on second in the fifth. He lost his shutout bid by allowing a double to Choi on his 104th pitch and departed after Martinez hit a 2-0 fastball into the left-field seats.

Chad Green (2-0) ended the fifth with a strikeout and worked around an RBI groundout by Kevin Kiermaier in the sixth. Adam Ottavino finished up with a scoreless seventh.

The Yankees went ahead by putting together two walks and three hits in the decisive four-run third inning.

Ford made it 2-0 by homering over the center field fence and Urshela's double chased Tampa Bay starter Tyler Glasnow. Stanton made it 5-0 by opening the fifth with his third homer and Judge hiked the lead to 7-3 in the sixth.

Glasnow (0-1) lost the rematch with Cole from Game 5 of the ALDS, allowing four runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out five, walked three and threw 71 pitches.

--Field Level Media