ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Curt Casali hit his first home run in nearly two months and Drew Smyly picked up his first win since May, an unlikely combo helping the Tampa Bay Rays to their third straight win with a 6-3 victory over the New York Yankees on Saturday night at Tropicana Field.

Smyly (3-11) had not won in his last 11 starts and yet came up with his second win against the Yankees this season, limiting New York to two runs and four hits in six innings.

The Rays (41-61) had other unlikely stars. Shortstop Tim Beckham hit a two-run homer in the seventh to add insurance against the Yankees (52-51), who have scored five total runs in its three-game losing streak.

The Rays broke open a tight game in the seventh when center fielder Kevin Kiermaier doubled off reliever Anthony Swarzak, stole third and scored on Steven Souza's RBI single. Beckham followed with a two-run homer for a 6-2 lead.

The Yankees got a solo home run from Chase Headley in the eighth to cut the lead to 6-3 and had the tying run up after a fortunate break -- what was an inning-ending double play off the bat of Jacoby Ellsbury was ruled catcher's interference on Casali, putting two on for Carlos Beltran. But reliever Matt Andriese got Beltran to ground into another double play to end the rally.

Alex Colome pitched a perfect ninth, striking out the side to pick up his 24th save of the season and second in as many nights.

The Rays have gotten consistent pitching since the All-Star break, with nine straight quality starts entering Saturday, when Smyly held the Yankees to two runs and four hits in the first six innings. Smyly had six strikeouts -- three against DH Alex Rodriguez -- and made essentially one mistake, a two-run homer to Brett Gardner in the third inning.

For the second night in a row, the Rays jumped ahead with a solo home run in the first -- Brad Miller, getting a break of sorts as designated hitter, hit his 16th home run of the season off Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi.

Smyly, winless in his previous 11 starts, retired the first seven batters in order before Chase Headley singled in the third and scored on Gardner's blast to right field for a 2-1 lead.

The Rays answered in the bottom of the inning when Tim Beckham singled from the No. 8 spot in the batting order and Casali followed with a two-run homer, his first home run in 70 at-bats dating to June 1. Casali, who has worked sparingly since Luke Maile joined the team after the All-Star break, was batting .115 in the previous 22 games before Saturday.

The Yankees threatened in the fourth, getting a single from Mark Teixeira and a double from Starlin Castro, but Smyly got out of the jam by inducing Didi Gregorius to pop out to center to end the inning.

The Rays mustered only three hits in the first six innings against Eovaldi, but with two as home runs, they led. Eovaldi hadn't allowed a home run in his last five appearances and a combined 17 2/3 innings dating to July 1.

NOTES: Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez started and batted cleanup, his first start since July 22. He has just two hits in his last 22 at-bats, breaking an 0-for-12 slump with a pinch-single in the ninth inning on Friday. ... Entering Saturday's game, the Rays led the majors with a 2.46 ERA since the All-Star break, just ahead of the Yankees (2.48). Rays starters entered the night with a streak of nine straight quality starts (6+ IP, 3- ER), the third longest streak in franchise history and best since Aug. 2014. ... Rays SS Brad Miller has perfected the baseball "triple-double" -- including Friday's win, he has hit a double and triple in the same game five times, the most in the majors and already a Rays season record. ... Rays OF Brandon Guyer drew his 23rd hit-by-pitch Friday, extending his major-league lead. He has 10 more than any other player. ... The Yankees' bullpen has a 0.84 ERA since July 9, the best in the majors, allowing runs in just four of 16 games in that span. Relievers are holding opponents to a .155 batting average in that stretch.