Yankees walk off for 6th in a row

NEW YORK — The latest hit by Brett Gardner produced another walk-off win for the Yankees — with no mishaps.

Gardner’s RBI single with the bases loaded in the ninth inning sent the AL East leaders over the Rays 5-4 for their sixth straight victory.

“When we needed the huge hit, he got it for us,” manager Joe Girardi said.

Said Gardner: “Makes me feel good. It’s an exciting win for us, a very important game against a tough opponent.”

Gardner won the series opener Thursday night with an 11thinning home run. That sparked a wild celebration at the plate, and rookie Aaron Judge was accidentally hit by Gardner’s helmet and lost half of his front left tooth.

A day after Judge went to the dentist for a fix, he steered clear this time, instead pouring Gatorade on Gardner and nimbly avoiding the happy group.

Chase Headley and Gary Sanchez hit long home runs for the Yankees. The contending Rays lost their sixth straight game at Yankee Stadium.

“That team is on fire right now,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Seems like a lot of things are going their way. They’re in such a good spot right now as a club.”

Aroldis Chapman (4-1) worked around a pair of baserunners in the ninth to earn the victory. The hard-throwing closer threw 11 of his 13 pitches over 100 mph to earn his second win of the series. He has allowed just two hits and struck out six over his last five innings.

Lucas Duda homered for the second straight game since being traded from the Mets to the Rays. Peter Bourjos and Steven Souza Jr. also homered for the Rays, who fell for the eighth time in their last 10 games.