ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Chris Young had logged only 75 pitches in his return to the majors last week. But the right-hander was feeling so good Tuesday night at the Trop, Terry Collins let Young up his pitch count to 106 in the right-hander’s second start since returning from the same surgery that Johan Santana underwent eight months earlier.

Young, after allowing a pair of first-inning runs, got better as his outing went along and ultimately earned his first win since April 5, 2011 -- his Mets debut.

He ultimately limited the Rays to two runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out four in 5 2/3 innings.

Young departed after a two-out walk to No. 9 hitter Sean Rodriguez in the sixth. Jon Rauch recorded the inning’s final out to close the book on Young.

“It felt good,” Young said. “Terry and [pitching coach] Dan [Warthen] asked me after the fifth how I felt. I told them I wasn’t aware of the pitch count. I’m not going to worry about that. I’m going to go off feel. And I felt good. Terry said, ‘Well, you can go back out and start the sixth.’ If I hadn’t walked Rodriguez, maybe I would have gotten out of it. But I don’t look at the pitch count. I don’t look at the board. I don’t know where I am. I just go as long and as hard as I can.

“The command got better. The life on the ball got better,” Young continued. “Everything felt a lot better as I went. It was a positive sign.”