ST. PETERSBURG -- Alex Rodriguez was standing in the on-deck circle in the 10th inning of Wednesday's Yankees-Devil Rays game when bench coach Lee Mazzilli called him back to the dugout.

"It's weird," Rodriguez said. "You never get called back from the on-deck circle unless they're pinch-hitting for you."

Joe Torre had no plans to pinch-hit for the reigning American League MVP with men on second and third and one out; he simply wanted to lend some words of encouragement to his struggling third baseman.

"Just hit the ball on the good part of the bat," Torre told Rodriguez, who had just one hit in his last 17 at-bats. "Just trust that the ball will find a hole somewhere and make good contact."

Rodriguez followed his manager's advice, stroking an RBI single to center field. New York walked away with a 4-2 win over Tampa Bay, but more importantly, the Yankees may have seen their cleanup hitter break out of his recent slump.

"It was hugely important," Torre said. "He may blow it off, but it was important for him to get that kind of hit for us."

Torre was right on both counts.

The hit was very important for the Yankees, who won for the third time in four games, pulling back into a first-place tie with the Red Sox in the AL East.

The manager was also correct in assessing Rodriguez's reaction to the hit, as he refused to acknowledge his recent problems at the plate.

"I'm not in a slump; I don't believe in that word," Rodriguez said. "The team needed it more than I did. Although I'm 1-for-17, I feel like good things are going to happen. We needed it; it was a big win for us."

"I wanted him up there," said Johnny Damon, who scored on A-Rod's hit. "You know he's going to come through, it's just a matter of time."

As important as Rodriguez's clutch hit was, the Yankees' pitching staff can take its share of credit for the victory. Jaret Wright allowed two runs over six innings in his best start of the season, while Ron Villone, Mike Myers, Kyle Farnsworth (1-0) and Mariano Rivera (fifth save) combined to throw four scoreless innings in relief.

"When someone goes out there, we try to compete against each other," Farnsworth said. "We definitely feed off each other."

"Villone was great; he set the tone for everybody," Torre said. "Myers came in and did what he did, and Farnsworth was dominating. The bullpen was terrific."

Wright and Casey Fossum engaged in a scoreless duel through four innings, but Tomas Perez broke the scoreless tie with a two-run homer off Wright in the fifth.

Rodriguez had a chance to get the Yankees back in the game in the sixth, as Fossum put the tying runs on base with a pair of walks. A-Rod came to the plate representing the go-ahead run, but he hit a chopper to third. Sean Burroughs fielded it, stepped on third and fired to first, completing the inning-ending double play.

The Yankees finally broke through in the seventh, as Bernie Williams' single and Robinson Cano's double put the tying runs in scoring position with one out.

Fossum was replaced by Chad Orvella, who gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Jorge Posada and an RBI groundout by pinch-hitter Miguel Cairo, evening the score at 2.

Both bullpens did their jobs, sending the game into extras. That's when Rodriguez and Hideki Matsui, who was in a 6-for-43 skid of his own, took matters into their own hands.

Damon led off the 10th with a double to right against Tyler Walker, who then walked Jeter to put two men on. The runners advanced to second and third on Jason Giambi's groundout to second, putting A-Rod in position to give New York the lead.

That's when Torre lent his words of wisdom to Rodriguez, something he does often with hitters before they go to the plate.

"They don't normally listen," Torre said.

Rodriguez did, coming through with his single to center against Ruddy Lugo, scoring Damon to give New York a 3-2 lead. Matsui followed with a bloop single to right, plating Jeter to boost the lead to two.

"When you're not getting hits, you try to guide the baseball somewhere. That doesn't work out," Rodriguez said. "I felt pretty confident in that situation. I always do."

"He came up big right there," Damon said. "He had an opportunity earlier, but he stayed within himself. He's one of the greatest players ever, so he's going to find it. That was the perfect time tonight."

The Devil Rays never considered walking A-Rod with first base open, as Joe Maddon's plan was to walk Matsui and face Williams if Rodriguez made an out.

"Their whole lineup gives you something to think about, but you set your strategy," Maddon said. "It doesn't mean what we did was wrong; it just didn't work out. That's the way I look at situations like that. You pick your poison -- and we ate it.

"Any time you go to the plate, it's a new battle, a new war," Rodriguez said. "I like the lack of confidence by others; that motivates me when people say I'm slumping. If the pitcher is thinking that, it's a great advantage I have."

While Rodriguez may not accept the idea of a slump, there is another concept he very much believes in, and he hopes that Wednesday night's win can help the Yankees achieve it.

"I do believe in hot streaks," Rodriguez said with a smile. "Hopefully this gets us all in a hot streak."