NEW YORK -- Everything was perfect for the New York Yankees in the home opener, from the weather to almost every pitch coming out of Michael Pineda's right hand.

Well, almost perfect for Pineda.

As the outs accumulated, Pineda had the Yankees thinking about history Monday when he retired the first 20 hitters and wound up allowing two hits and striking out 11 in 7 2/3 electrifying innings in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

"It was the most composed that I've seen him on the mound in a long time," New York catcher Austin Romine said. "He was very smooth."

Pineda's first 74 pitches did not result in anybody reaching base and few difficult outs. On his 75th pitch, Evan Longoria lined a first-pitch slider into left field for a clean double.

It was one of the few off-speed pitches that Pineda missed his location with during his first win since Aug. 5. Pineda was so good that even Longoria acknowledged the right-hander by tipping his cap at him.

"You kind of know what he's gonna throw for the most part," said Longoria, who is 7-for-38 against Pineda. "You're kind of guessing first-pitch fastball, first-pitch slider. Those are the only two that he was executing. I had just guessed slider on that pitch and he made a mistake. It was the one that he had left up."

Longoria's hit occurred moments after Kevin Kiermaier flied out to left field and Brett Gardner made a running catch near the foul line. Pineda regrouped quickly after Longoria's hit by striking out Brad Miller following a brief visit by pitching coach Larry Rothchild.

"Your thinking is it's going to be another special day here at the Stadium," said manager Joe Girardi, who also added Pineda would have returned for the ninth if the no-hitter was still going. "Obviously he pitched really, really well today. I thought he had a shot. His stuff was really good."

And making it more impressive for the inconsistent right-hander was this performance came against the same team he couldn't past the fourth inning against Wednesday. It also occurred against the same opponent that tagged him for four home runs in New York nearly a year ago.

"The biggest thing for me today is my location was very good today," Pineda said. "I executed my pitches, especially my changeup."

Said Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash: "Other than the ball that Longo hit, you didn't see him throw another pitch like that."

The game-time temperature was 76 and the sellout crowd watching New York's warmest home opener since 1960 began sensing something historical might occur when he ended the fifth by striking out Logan Morrison.

"That was the best I think I've seen him so far," Tampa Bay right fielder Steven Souza Jr. said. "He had his slider going pretty good. He could throw it for a strike. He could bury it, put it on the corner. He was good today."

Morrison also factored into Pineda losing his shutout bid by hitting a home run with one out in the eighth. Pineda then retired Derek Norris on a groundout and exited to a standing ovation.

While Pineda was getting fans to think about history, New York built a 2-0 lead on Jacoby Ellsbury's RBI double in the third and Aaron Judge's long home run in the fourth off Tampa Bay right-hander Alex Cobb (1-1).

Chase Headley's home run in the seventh staked Pineda to a 3-0 lead before Morrison homered with one out in the eighth.

The Yankees added insurance in the eighth on Matt Holliday's double, Chris Carter's triple, Starlin Castro's home run and a RBI groundout by Ronald Torreyes.

Cobb allowed five runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings.

NOTES: The Yankees announced that an MRI exam on C Gary Sanchez (strained right biceps) revealed a Grade One strain of the right brachialis muscle. Sanchez will be out for at least four weeks. ... New York also altered its rotation and announced LHP Jordon Montgomery will start Wednesday while RHP Luis Severino, RHP Masahiro Tanaka and LHP CC Sabathia will be pushed back an extra day. ... Tampa Bay matched its lowest hit total against the Yankees as Monday was the sixth time it was held to two hits. The last instance was April 10, 2010 in Tampa Bay. ... Before going 0-for-3 against RHP Michael Pineda, Tampa Bay RF Steven Souza Jr. was 10-for-21 off him. ... New York 1B Greg Bird was held out of the lineup to get another day to recover from flu-like symptoms. ... Former Yankee manager Joe Torre, 2B Willie Randolph and 1B Tino Martinez threw out the ceremonial first pitches.