Six days after losing his starting job, Jorge Posada found himself outside of the dugout, waving in vindication to the Yankee Stadium crowd.

It was a curtain call almost a week in the making.

Posada hit a grand slam and drove in six runs Saturday to lead the Yankees to a 9-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, building his best offensive game in almost five years after spending the last five games on the Yankees bench.

“It’s tough to sit around,” Posada said.

Struggling mightily, Posada had been taken out of the lineup last Sunday by manager Joe Girardi. But he batted eighth in the order on Saturday and went 3- for-5, with his 10th career grand slam highlighting a five-run fifth.

“We liked the at-bats he had off (Rays starter Jeremy) Hellickson before and we decided that we were going to play him today,” said Girardi. “Low and behold, you look up and it’s the bottom of the fifth and we’re ahead 7-0 and he’s got six of the RBI.”

He sparked a 15-hit outburst by the Yankees, who won for just the third time in seven games. Curtis Granderson also homered and the top five players in the New York lineup each had two hits.

Phil Hughes (3-4) started for the first time in 11 days and pitched six innings for the win, allowing two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out six.

The Yankees bounced back after losing the opener of this three-game series, 5-1, on Friday night. The Rays hit five solo homers off CC Sabathia in eight innings, but had just five hits total in this one as their five-game winning streak came to an end.

New York moved within a game of Boston for first place in the AL East after the Red Sox lost to Seattle on Saturday.

Hellickson (10-8) took the loss — his first to the Yankees — after being charged with four runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.