Gary Sheffield hit a tying homer in the ninth inning, and Alex Rodriguez's two-run shot in the 11th gave the Yankees an 8-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night in New York.
Eric Byrnes hit a three-run drive for one of three homers by the A's, who tagged Esteban Loaiza for five runs in his Yankees debut. But New York rallied against the Athletics' bullpen, sending Oakland to only its second loss in 11 games.
With the Yankees trailing 6-4 in the ninth, Derek Jeter blooped a one-out single to right off closer Octavio Dotel. Sheffield then sent a 1-1 pitch over the left-field fence to tie it, bringing a huge roar from the crowd of 47,885.
It was Dotel's third blown save in 11 chances with the A's since he was acquired from Houston.
After Mariano Rivera (3-1) threw 51 pitches in two scoreless innings, Sheffield singled with one out in the 11th off Justin Duchscherer (4-3). Rodriguez followed with a high drive over the left-field fence, giving him the AL lead with 29 home runs.
Rodriguez raised his right arm as he rounded first, then was greeted by his teammates at home plate in a matter-of-fact celebration, Yankee-style.
Rivera escaped a bases-loaded jam in the 10th with some help from new first baseman John Olerud, who made a nifty pickup and forced a runner at the plate for the second out. Mark Kotsay then flied to center.
Olerud hit a two-run single off Rich Harden in his first at-bat with the Yankees and finished 2-for-5. Hideki Matsui also homered for New York, which will try to win this three-game series between AL division leaders when sinkerballer Kevin Brown faces Oakland curveballer Barry Zito in an enticing Thursday matinee.
Jermaine Dye and Eric Chavez also connected for the A's, who had won three straight.
A 21-game winner and runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award last season, Loaiza was acquired from the Chicago White Sox for pitcher Jose Contreras and $3 million just before baseball's trade deadline Saturday.
Loaiza is supposed to help solidify the Yankees' inconsistent rotation, but he struggled with his control Wednesday. Three of the four he walked scored, and he set up another run by hitting a batter with a pitch.
Making his second attempt at career win No. 100, the right-hander gave up five runs and six hits in six innings, striking out six.
Dye hit his 18th homer leading off the second, his first RBI in 13 games.
Olerud put the Yankees ahead 2-1 with a two-run single in the bottom half. Released by Seattle on July 23, the former AL batting champion was signed to fill in at first base while Jason Giambi is sidelined with a benign tumor.
Loaiza froze some hitters with his tricky cut fastball, but he got in trouble with two walks in the fourth. Byrnes, the reigning AL player of the week, then homered to center for a 4-2 lead.
Byrnes was just a home run shy of the cycle Tuesday night. He has 20 RBIs in his last 12 games.
Kenny Lofton's sacrifice fly cut it to 4-3 in the bottom half, but the slow-footed Olerud was thrown out at third on the play to end the inning.
After Mark McLemore drew a leadoff walk and Dye was hit by Loaiza's 0-2 pitch in the fifth, Oakland scored on Erubiel Durazo's two-out RBI single.
Matsui hit his 20th homer leading off the sixth to make it 5-4, but Chavez connected for his 20th against Paul Quantrill to open the seventh.
INDIANS 14, BLUE JAYS 5: At Toronto, Travis Hafner homered twice, went 4-for-5 and tied a career high with six RBIs, and the Cleveland Indians ended a four-game losing streak. Casey Blake went 5-for-6 to match a career high for hits as the Indians tied their season best with 21. Cleveland also had 21 hits — including eight home runs — on July 16 at Seattle. Hafner also had six RBIs on July 20 at Anaheim. It's the seventh time this season he's had four or more RBIs in a game.
RANGERS 8, TIGERS 0: At Detroit, Mike Bacsik gave up four hits over seven innings in his debut with Texas, and Laynce Nix hit a two-run homer to lead the Rangers. Bacsik (1-0), who signed with Texas in December, struck out four and walked none. Brought up from Triple-A Oklahoma last week, Bacsik retired nine straight before Alex Sanchez singled leading off the fourth.
DEVIL RAYS 5, RED SOX 4: At St. Petersburg, Toby Hall snapped an 0-for-18 slump with his first career grand slam in the seventh inning, and Tampa Bay beat Boston for only the second time in nine tries. With the Devils Rays trailing 4-1, Hall hit a 1-2 pitch with no outs from Bronson Arroyo (4-8) into the left-field seats.
ROYALS 11, WHITE SOX 0: At Kansas City, Mo., Brian Anderson had a career-best two-hitter to win for the first time since April 20, and Utahn John Buck had three hits — including a three-run homer that capped a seven-run first inning for the Royals. Aaron Rowand was the only batter to reach against Anderson, doubling to lead off the game, walking in the third, then doubling again in the ninth.
ORIOLES 6, MARINERS 3: At Baltimore, Rafael Palmeiro singled in two runs to snap a seventh-inning tie, and the Orioles handed Seattle its sixth straight loss. Brian Roberts also had two RBIs for Baltimore. The Orioles scored three runs on one hit in the seventh against Shigetoshi Hasegawa (4-4) and Mike Myers, off whom Palmeiro singled down the right-field line.
TWINS 6, ANGELS 3: At Minneapolis, Justin Morneau homered for the second straight night, sparking a three-run sixth inning that carried Minnesota to its 13th victory in 16 games. Torii Hunter followed Morneau with a double, then Jacque Jones hit a two-run homer to break it open for the Twins, who now have a season-high six-game lead in the AL Central.