ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. - Music blared in the Tampa Bay Rays' clubhouse, and four large, flat-screen televisions mounted around a column in the middle of the room were tuned to the same in-house channel displaying the American League East standings.

The surprising Rays are on top, and the sputtering New York Yankees are on the bottom.

No one was gloating, though.

"I want us to celebrate hard for 30 minutes postgame and then move on. I want us to dwell on a loss for no more than 30 minutes," manager Joe Maddon said after Thursday's 5-2 victory dumped New York into the cellar.

"Sometimes I get away from my own rule on the negative side," Maddon said. "But I think the guys are handling this very well. It's the confidence that's been gained. It's the momentum that you create. ... It's a feeling that did not exist before, so first of all, you have to nurture it and grow it, and then once you got it, you have to do everything you can to hold on to it because it can go away."

Scott Kazmir shined in his first start since agreeing to a $28.5 million contract extension, and Akinori Iwamura and Shawn Riggans homered off Ian Kennedy to help Tampa Bay win for the seventh time in eight games.

Kazmir (2-1) gave up three singles in six scoreless innings, even though he's still trying to regain his form after spending April on the disabled list with a left elbow strain sustained in spring training.

"I'll take it," said Kazmir, who also gave up three hits in six scoreless innings in his previous start against the Los Angeles Angels. "I feel like I'm fighting myself just a little bit. The velocity is not where I want it right now. ... It feels like I'm just on the verge. The next start or two, it feels like everything is going to come together."

Tampa Bay (24-17), which started play in 1998, has been alone atop the division standings for three consecutive days for the first time. The Rays took three of four from New York and have won six of their past seven series in building the best record in the American League.

The Yankees (20-22) have lost six of nine and got another shaky performance from Kennedy (0-3), recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Things don't get any easier this weekend. The Yankees head home to face Johan Santana and the crosstown rival Mets in the opener of the interleague Subway Series tonight.