ST. PETERSBURG -- Out of action since Wednesday, Johnny Damon wanted to make his return count. And since he didn't enter Saturday's game until the sixth inning, he had precious little time to make a difference.

Not a problem.

The regular center fielder scored the game's first run, in the sixth inning as a pinch-runner, and then smacked a two-RBI triple to right in the top of the seventh to push New York's lead to three during a 5-1 victory over Tampa Bay that secured a series win.

It also gave manager Joe Torre his 1,926th career win, tying him with Casey Stengel for 10th-most all-time.

"It's great company. And you know the great part about celebrating something like that is it means that you did well on the field," Torre said of the milestone. "It's an accomplishment that coincides with the team doing well, so it's easy for me to enjoy that."

It was probably just as easy for Torre to enjoy Damon's comeback performance. Just before his triple, Damon had worked the count full after a quick two strikes, and said he didn't underestimate the importance of his duty in that situation.

"When you play this game for a while, when you have a reputation, as I do, as a player who normally has tough at-bats, the one thing I'm going to do is compete and battle," Damon said.

Torre said before Friday's game that Damon, who is nursing a strained right oblique muscle, would not start the contest, but that Torre would not hesitate to use him should the situation arise. With the game deadlocked at zero and the final three innings approaching, a perfect opportunity presented itself.

Designated hitter Jason Giambi drove a pitch to the wall in right-center to lead off the sixth inning. Rays center fielder Rocco Baldelli missed the ball on a dead sprint, though, and it caromed off the wall and back toward the infield, allowing Giambi to take second safely. Damon then entered to pinch-run for Giambi, and scored one out later when Jorge Posada singled to center to snap an 0-for-13 slump at the plate.

In the first inning, Posada gunned down Rays speedster Carl Crawford as he attempted to steal second, a play Torre pointed to as one that set the tone for the game. Crawford, who has 32 stolen bases, second-best in the Major Leagues, has been caught just six times in 2006.

"I don't think you'll find a better [throw] than that all year," Torre said. "You don't throw Carl Crawford out. The only way you're going to do it is have the ball sitting there waiting for him. But Jorge got rid of that ball."

Posada was a bit more modest about the feat, but his excitement showed.

"It's like hitting a home run," he said. "As a catcher, you take a lot of pride in what you do, and when you throw somebody out, it just feels that good."

It was Damon's first action since he left Wednesday's game in the third inning with a sore right oblique muscle, and his jog out to second base to replace Giambi was greeted with raucous applause from the largely pro-Yankees crowd.

The cheers grew deafening when Damon took a full-count pitch from Rays starter Scott Kazmir in the top of the seventh and parked it in the farthest corner of right field to add two insurance runs.

Before the hit, Damon was 1-for-12 (.083) in his career against Kazmir, with four strikeouts.

"I've been around this game for a while and been in some pretty big situations in my career, I kind of just take it as another at-bat," Damon said. "Granted, it was a pretty important at-bat, I'm glad I was able to help spark us.

"Not too many people hit Kazmir too well. It worked out perfectly; I got it high enough over [first baseman Ty] Wigginton's head, and the rest is history."

Damon took batting practice at Tropicana Field on Friday before the three-game series began and reported no problems, but Torre kept him out as a precaution. Saturday, Torre said Damon felt "great" and said he could play, though Torre felt safer keeping him on the bench just a little longer. Torre said Damon either may or may not see action Sunday, but it might be hard to keep the 32-year-old from an encore performance.

"We may do the same thing [as Saturday], he may start," Torre said. "The kid had some good at-bats tonight. My guess is we'll go the same way and go safety first here, and not hesitate if we do get a situation."

After Damon's big hit, the Yankees added two more runs in the eighth inning on back-to-back singles from Derek Jeter and Melky Cabrera to go up, 5-0. The Rays would score one in the ninth on a sacrifice fly with closer Kyle Farnsworth on the mound, but it became moot when Farnsworth iced Wigginton for the game's final out.

Farnsworth was just the second New York pitcher used in the game, thanks to starter Chien-Ming Wang's 8 1/3-innings gem. The right-hander allowed just six hits and the single run, while throwing 103 pitches, 67 of which that went for strikes. He walked two and fanned two in his ninth win, calling it his best game of the season.

"He was magnificent tonight," Torre said. "You look forward to having him pitch ... when you look at the lineup of pitchers against the opposing team, you're very confident with what he does.

"When you look up there in the eighth inning and he's throwing 95, that's pretty impressive."