ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Nearly four months after thinking his career might be over, Jaret Wright is back – and pitching well – for the Yankees.

Wright won his first start since going on the disabled list because of shoulder pain, and Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield homered last night, helping the Yankees beat the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5-2 for their fifth straight victory.

“If I could have envisioned it, this is exactly what I would have envisioned,” Wright said. “Coming in after three months and being able to compete and getting a win. It’s a really good feeling.”

Rodriguez homered for the third straight game, hitting a two-run, four thinning shot off Casey Fossum (6-9) to boost his American League-leading total to 36. Sheffield hit no.25, a solo blast off reliever Travis Harper, for a 5-2 lead in the seventh.

But Wright (3-2) was the story for the Yankees, whose starting rotation has been in shambles because of injuries.

“He’s one of the guys we counted on when spring training started,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said. “He has basically had a long, boring road back because there wasn’t a whole lot for him to do other than rest it and rehab it. Right now, he’s tickled pink.”

Pitching for the first time since April 23, the right-hander allowed two runs and four hits in 6 1/3 innings – his longest outing of the season. He struck out two, walked one, and hit three batters, including Jonny Gomes twice.

In between the plunkings, Gomes hit a solo homer off Wright in the fourth. The Devil Rays also scored on Toby Hall’s RBI single in the fifth.

Tanyon Sturtze replaced Wright with two runners on and one out in the seventh, and Tom Gordon pitched a perfect eighth for the Yankees. Mariano Rivera, who also hit Gomes with a pitch, got the last three outs for his 32nd save, moving ahead of Jeff Reardon for fifth place on the career list with 368.

Wright had been on the DL since April 24, one day after leaving a loss against Texas. It was the eighth time he has been on the disabled list in his nine-year career, and the sixth because of a shoulder problem.

“Coming out of that game was a definite low point. I didn’t know if I’d be able to throw again – how it would play out,” Wright said, crediting pitching specialist Billy Connors and trainer Mark Littlefield with helping him get back on track.

“The guys worked with me. …We put in the time to give myself a chance to come back. It’s just super to be back.”

Monday’s start was his fifth of the season, and second against Tampa Bay, which roughed up the right-hander for eight runs and 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings in the Yankees’ 19-8 victory over the Devil Rays on April 18.

This time, Wright held the Devil Rays without a hit until Gomes homered with two outs in the fourth to trim New York’s lead to 2-1.

“To be on the DL as long as he has, he came out and pitched well,” Devil Rays manager Lou Piniella said. “We had a few chances. We didn’t get hits when we needed them.”

Rodriguez homered for the sixth time in nine games, hitting a towering shot that struck a catwalk supporting the dome roof at Tropicana Field, approximately 100 feet above the field.