PITTSBURGH — Saturday was a long day for the Rays that ended well.

They fell behind early, as Drew Rasmussen allowed a pair of two-run homers.

They wasted a prime opportunity against Pirates ace Paul Skenes.

They sat through a nearly 2 1/2-hour rain delay.

They scored five runs right after play resumed but let that lead slip away in the eighth.

They took a lead in the 11th on a three-base throwing error and lost that, too.

But it all worked out in the end, as Cedric Mullins hit a two-run homer in the 13th inning and they hung on for an 8-7 victory.

The Rays (12-8) went ahead in the top of the 11th when Taylor Walls reached first after an unsuccessful one-out squeeze attempt and came all the way around to score on an errant pickoff throw.

But they let that lead slip away when Nick Yorke, who went to third on a groundout, raced home as second baseman Ben Williamson’s throw was slightly off target.

But struggling reliever Griffin Jax, who blew Friday’s game, handled the top of the Pirates order, including ex-Rays Brandon Lowe and Jake Mangum, to get through the 12th.

And Mullins delivered the marathon game’s biggest hit to open the 13th, a two-run homer to right-center. Yoendrys Gomez allowed one run in the bottom of the inning and had the tying and winning runs in scoring position but got the final three outs.

Down 4-0, the Rays came out swinging after the rain delay, scoring five runs in the fifth against relievers Cam Sanders and Evan Sisk, with most of the action after two were out.

Hunter Feduccia drew a leadoff walk, then Walls and Chandler Simpson struck out.

But the Rays then ripped off five consecutive hits.

Junior Caminero doubled in Feduccia. Jonathan Aranda singled in Caminero. Yandy Diaz singled. After the left-handed Sisk replaced Sanders, manager Kevin Cash went to his bench and Jonny DeLuca delivered the biggest hit of the rally, a pinch-hit, two-run double that evened the score 4-4.

Mullins than slapped a single up the middle that scored DeLuca for a 5-4 lead.

Bryan Baker has been the Rays’ most dependable high-leverage reliever, and Cash used him for the eighth against the core of the Pirates lineup.

That was trouble from the start, as he walked Lowe, then a one-out grounder to Caminero became an infield single. Baker got the big out he needed in fanning Marcell Ozuna, but Yorke lined a single to right that delivered the tying run.

Rasmussen gave up a two-run shot to Ryan O’Hearn with two outs in the first, and the other to Ozuna with one out in the fourth.

The Rays wasted their chance against Skenes after loading the bases with no outs in the second and, after an odd sequence, getting nothing out it.

Jake Fraley led off with a single; Mullins, after a replay challenge to a non-call, reached on catcher’s interference; and Richie Palacios singled.

Then things got weird.

Feduccia bounced a ball to the right side that first baseman Spencer Horwitz tried to glove as he and Palacios moved toward second.

It looked like the Rays got a run as Fraley scored and there would be a force out at second.

But Palacios was called for interfering with Horwitz’s attempt to field the ball and declared out, and Fraley and Mullins had to return to their bases. Feduccia got to stay at first on a fielder’s choice.

That all mattered, because Skenes regained his Cy Young form and struck out Taylor Walls and got Simpson to ground out.

Shortly after Ozuna hit the homer off Rasmussen, torrential rain quickly soaked PNC Park.

The start of the game had been moved up 35 minutes, from 4:10 p.m. to 3:35 to avoid what were supposed to be late afternoon/early evening rains. Instead, play was stopped at 4:39 and didn’t resume until 7:06 p.m.

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