MLB

ANDY HAS HIS WAY WITH UPSTART RAYS

Whether the Yankees gain any ground this series comes down to today’s finale. Whether they ultimately catch the first-place Rays comes down to the next three months.

But in facing off against their new rivals last night in a critical game, Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter delivered. With league’s best team in town, the two longtime Yankees legends were equally magnificent, carrying an impressive 5-0 victory with their arm, glove and bat.

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Pettitte fired eight shutout innings, an absolute masterpiece. Jeter drove in two runs, scored a third and stonewalled a Tampa Bay rally with a terrific defensive play.

“They’ve done it for many years and they are very good in the moment,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “They’ve had that kind of experience. That’s why they are Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter. They both did rise to the occasion.”

The Rays still lead the Yanks by 71/2, but the Bombers may be emerging, having won three straight and beating Tampa ace Scott Kazmir last night.

The Yankees didn’t crush the ball, scoring only two runs in the first seven innings, but they didn’t need to; Pettitte was simply dominant. He orchestrated five three-up-three-down innings and walked no one.

“It all started with Andy,” Jeter said. “He set the tone for us. He deserves all the credit.”

However, when Pettitte was in his only jam, Jeter threw the life preserver.

With the Yanks up 2-0 in the seventh, the Rays put men on first and third with two outs. Willy Aybar hit a grounder in the hole between short and third – what easily could have been a run-scoring single. But Jeter grabbed it with a backhand snare, jumped and threw to second for the force. Inning over.

“Obviously that wasn’t the game. I think that one run would have scored,” Pettitte said. “But it gets me out of that inning.”

Pettitte gave Jeter a glove punch and told him, “Nice play,” as the fans chanted “De-rek Je-ter.”

Through the first two innings, Kazmir ripped through the Yanks, striking out five of six. But in the third, with two on and two outs, Jeter came up. It was All-Star shortstop against All-Star lefty, and the odds weren’t in Jeter’s favor. He was just 3-for-24 off Kazmir, including a first-inning strikeout.

But here, Jeter didn’t swing and miss. Rather, he drove a two-run double to right, putting the Yankees up 2-0.

“They got us today,” Maddon said, “and we’ll go out and get them tomorrow.” The Yankees have 72 games left, and yesterday Joe Girardi stressed the importance of the team elevating its performance.

“There’s a lot of baseball left, but over these next 70-plus games we have to play very well,” said Girardi, whose team is 3-1 since his clubhouse meeting.

Girardi also spoke of how “a lot of guys in [the Yankees clubhouse] aren’t used to necessarily chasing” teams ahead of them. Whether it’s unfamiliar ground or not, Pettitte, Jeter and Co. handled the hunting just fine.

mark.hale@nypost.com