ST. PETERSBURG -- Pete Fairbanks watched the ball pop off Gleyber Torres’ bat, his final fastball not hit particularly hard and lofted a little too high in the air. As he turned around to face center field, Fairbanks pumped his right fist and let loose an emphatic, “Let’s go!”

“I thought that somebody was going to be, like, camped underneath it,” Fairbanks said afterward. “Apparently I was not in tune with our defensive alignment.”

With the Rays clinging to a one-run lead, the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base and two outs in the ninth inning, the ball hung in the air for a little more than five seconds -- but nobody called for it. Jose Siri ran in from center field. José Caballero dashed back from second base, briefly losing the ball against Tropicana Field’s domed roof.

Caballero made the over-the-shoulder catch as Siri slid by him, providing a dramatic ending to the Rays’ 5-4 win over the Yankees on Thursday night.

Or … did he?

Caballero celebrated the final out with an exuberant flex. As he swung his glove across his chest, he slapped it with his right hand, knocking the ball loose. Seeing the ball fall to the Trop’s turf prompted a wide range of reactions.

“Never a doubt,” setup man Jason Adam said, smiling.

“I got scared,” first baseman Yandy Díaz said through interpreter Manny Navarro, “because I thought he dropped it.”

“An out is an out,” Fairbanks said. “I’m glad that the ball came out of his glove when he started celebrating -- and not prior to that.”

“I was pretty confident he caught the ball,” manager Kevin Cash said. “But I wasn’t quite sure why it fell out.”

The Yankees challenged the call, but seeing replays of Caballero’s catch calmed the Rays’ nerves. Adam said it was “pretty clear.” Díaz said he “obviously” caught it. Caballero said he was “not at all” worried.

“I was pretty confident that it was an out,” Caballero added. “I knew I had enough in my glove.”

A short review reinforced what Caballero believed: He secured the ball to complete the catch before dropping it. The call was confirmed, and the Rays’ postgame handshakes were delayed no longer.

After being swept in Texas last weekend, the Rays knew they needed to move on quickly and finish their disappointing first half on a high note. They also knew, with the division-rival Yankees and American League-best Guardians on deck, the road would not be easy. But they bounced back well enough to record their sixth series win in their past seven tries.

“We talked about wanting to finish strong,” Cash said. “I feel like we played well this series, and we were a couple swings of the bat from winning yesterday as well.”

The Rays’ 2-1 loss on Wednesday night was due to a lack of clutch hitting. Their victory in the series finale was the result of clutch pitching.

Shane Baz worked 4 1/3 innings in his second big league start in nearly two years, but he departed with a lead after Tampa Bay’s lineup put up five early runs against Yankees starter Nestor Cortes.

That left the heavy lifting to the Rays' bullpen. It certainly didn’t come easy, but six relievers combined to record the final 14 outs without surrendering the lead.

“That’s what good relievers do. It's not always easy out there. There are days where it feels really hard,” Adam said. “They did a great job of not giving in. Those were really tough pitches and big pitches.”

Kevin Kelly inherited a two-on, one-out situation in the fifth and allowed a sacrifice fly, making it a two-run game, but retired Torres to end the inning. Garrett Cleavinger cruised through the sixth, thanks to a diving catch by right fielder Jonny DeLuca.

Adam completed a difficult four-out assignment by striking out Juan Soto on three straight changeups to end the seventh then whiffing Judge on a slider to begin the eighth.

“That was huge,” Cash said. “Those four outs were the big outs going right through the teeth of that lineup.”

Then things got interesting. Colin Poche allowed a walk and a single, but he struck out pinch-hitter Jose Trevino on a series of called strikes that led to Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake being ejected.

In came the third pitcher of the inning: Manuel Rodríguez, recalled from Triple-A Durham only two days earlier. Rodríguez walked Anthony Volpe to load the bases, but Randy Arozarena made a running grab in left field to end the inning.

They weren’t out of the woods yet, either. After allowing a pair of walks and a two-out RBI single by Ben Rice, Fairbanks saved the best drama for last.

“As they say, all's well that ends well,” Fairbanks said. “Unlike Dez [Bryant], he caught it.”