NEW YORK -- His day done, Zoilo Almonte stood in a corner of the Yankees clubhouse and pulled out a cellphone. As his teammates showered up, got dressed and left, the rookie lingered in his dirt-smudged uniform, talking away. There was plenty for him to talk about. Almonte provided much-needed pop in his first major league start, homering and adding two singles Friday night that led New York over the Tampa Bay Rays 6-2. "It was a sign that things are starting to be where they should be," Almonte said through a translator. Almonte started in place of slumping left fielder Vernon Wells and quickly delivered, a day after getting a pinch single for his first hit. The 24-year-old was promoted from Triple-A this week, joining an injury-ravaged team thats had trouble scoring. "Im still a little nervous. Its not easy for me," he said. Almonte also showed off a strong arm in helping the Yankees win for the third time in 10 games. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he admired Almontes "pretty swing" a couple of years ago in spring training. Almonte pressed in camp this season, did well in the minors -- hitting .297 with six home runs and 36 RBIs -- and earned this opportunity. "Hes been on our radar for a while," Girardi said, later adding, "the time has arrived." David Phelps (5-4) beat Roberto Hernandez (4-8) and the Rays for the second time in a month. Tampa Bay was trying for its first three-game winning streak in June. Phelps gave up two runs in 5 2-3 innings. The Yankees used four relievers to finish it, with Mariano Rivera closing in a non-save situation. Before Almontes solo homer in the sixth inning made it 5-2, the Yankees played a lot of small ball. Robinson Cano hit a sacrifice fly in the first and Ichiro Suzuki got an RBI with a soft comebacker in the third. The next inning, Jayson Nix grounded into a bases-loaded double play for a 3-2 lead and David Adams followed with an infield hit for another run. "We werent awful tonight," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "We just had some bad baseball luck on our side." The switch-hitting Almonte went 3 for 4, making him 4 for 6 in the majors. His home run sailed over the right-centre wall and was caught on the fly in the Yankees bullpen by coach Mike Harkey. Almonte said he would have his teammates sign the ball, then present it to his mother. Asked if hed ever had a better day, he said: "Today and when my son was born." Almonte got a hug from Cano, his fellow Dominican, when he reached the dugout. Cheered by festive fans on a pleasant first night of summer, Almonte emerged for a brief curtain call. Lyle Overbay singled home a run with two outs in the Yankees eighth. That gave Almonte one more at-bat, but he struck out. Ben Zobrist hit an RBI single in the Tampa Bay third. Luke Scott hit a single that made it 2-all in the fourth and the Rays went on to load the bases with one out. Matt Joyce hit a fly ball that Almonte caught on the run at medium depth, and his swift throw forced Scott to hold at third base. Desmond Jennings flied out to end the threat. NOTES: Rays LHP David Price (left triceps strain) gave up two runs and two hits in 2 1-3 innings for Class-A Charlotte in his first rehabilitation start. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner struck out four and walked two. ... RHP Alex Colome will be promoted from Triple-A to start for the Rays on Saturday. In his only big league appearance, he didnt permit an earned run in 5 2-3 innings and beat Miami on May 30. ... LHP CC Sabathia (7-5, 3.93 ERA) starts Saturday for the Yankees. Hes lost twice to the Rays this season and four straight times overall. ... The Rays signed first-round draft pick Nick Ciuffo. The 18-year-old catcher from South Carolina will join Tampa Bays team in the rookie level Gulf Coast League. ... Only one other major leaguer has had the first name of Zoilo -- 1965 AL MVP Zoilo Versalles. ... Wells is in a 9-for-87 rut.Wholesale College Jerseys . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Cheap USA College Jerseys . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. http://www.jerseyscollegecheap.com/ . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. College Jerseys From China . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner. Cheap College Jerseys Authentic . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.TEMUCO, Chile -- Canada is one win away from winning promotion to the top tier of under-20 world rugby. The Canadian under-20 men defeated Uruguay 36-15 on Wednesday to finish atop Pool B at the second-tier IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy. Canada will play Italy in Sundays final at the Estadio German Becker. The winner earns promotion to the elite IRB Junior World Championship, which features the top 12 teams. Coached by Mike Shelley, Canada opened the eiight-team tournament in Chile defeating Tonga 24-6 and Japan 39-15.dddddddddddd. The Italians edged Namibia 23-21 Wednesday to improve to 3-0. Italy was relegated from the IRB Junior World Championship last year after finishing 12th and last. Canada finished fifth last year at the World Rugby Trophy and was fourth in 2011 and fifth in 2010. Italy relegated Canada to the lower event in 2009, defeating the Canadians 32-22 for 12th place. ' ' '