The ninth inning belonged to Wandy Peralta.

For the second straight game — and the Yankees’ second straight pivotal victory over the Rays, this one by a 9-8 score — manager Aaron Boone went with Clay Holmes in the seventh and eighth innings, while giving the ball to Peralta in the ninth.

After Peralta earned his second save of the season with a 27-pitch ninth inning, in which the final out hung in the balance before Brandon Lowe flied to left, Boone had nothing but good things to say about the lefty.

“I felt like Wandy didn’t really make a mistake in the inning and he ends up throwing almost 30 pitches or whatever it was,” Boone said. “Lowe just kept battling and battling and hanging on. Wandy obviously gained count leverage on him, ahead in the count and then it felt like he just kept executing. To his credit, he spoiled, spoiled, spoiled, hung in there. Finally, we got him out.”

Despite shaky performances from starter Nestor Cortes and reliever Ron Marinaccio, the Yankees settled down after Holmes entered in the seventh.

Though he did allow Randy Arozarena to single in two runners who had been put on base by Marinaccio, Holmes got Taylor Walls to ground out to third, ending the threat.

In the eighth, Luke Raley singled and got into scoring position on a wild pitch, but Holmes shut things down from there, inducing three straight outs, two of them strikeouts.

“Obviously they extended him pretty far today,” Boone said. “After pitching last night, we’re a little [short] there. … He pitched the eighth, kept making pitches. I thought he was really good.”

At least against the Rays, the same late-game formula, with Peralta as the defacto closer, has now worked twice in a row.

It would be surprising to see Holmes or Peralta pitch a third straight day on Sunday. But Peralta’s second save of the season may not be his last opportunity.

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Boone did not commit to a Tuesday rehab assignment for Josh Donaldson (right hamstring) when asked before the game.

“Hopefully we’re getting close to that but nothing’s been set,” Boone said.

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Aaron Judge had his 29th career multi-homer game, tying Alex Rodriguez for fifth in franchise history.

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Isiah Kiner-Falefa left the game in the fifth inning, with Oswaldo Cabrera replacing him in left field. Cabrera went on to single home two runs in the sixth.