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NEW YORK -- Mariano Rivera stood on the mound, looking down at his cleats. Somehow, hed let yet another lead slip away. Never before had baseballs all-time saves leader blown three straight chances. Silenced by a pair of Detroit home runs, the fans at Yankee Stadium soon perked up. Brett Gardner homered with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the New York Yankees over the Tigers 5-4 Sunday for their first series win in more than a month. Rivera has a record 643 saves, but had never failed three in a row in 1,087 previous relief appearances. His troubles began in Chicago, where he gave back a lead to the White Sox. "At least its the first time, you know what I mean?" Rivera said. "I just try to go out there and do my job. The last three opportunities, I havent done it. So we have to continue battling and get better. Have to keep working and eventually it will happen." Rivera blew both save chances in this series. Gardner provided the winning hit in both games. "Mos bailed us out a few times," Gardner said. "It didnt matter if it was me or somebody else, we just needed to get a win today and Im glad we made it happen." Rivera (3-2) gave up another homer to a limping Miguel Cabrera, plus a drive to Victor Martinez in the top of the ninth. The solo shots made it 4-all and turned Alex Rodriguezs first homer of the season into a footnote. But Gardner connected off Jose Veras (0-5). The feisty centre fielder flipped his batting helmet to A-Rod just before reaching the plate, then jumped into a cluster of teammates at home. "To Martinez, that ball was just laying right flat up. And also with Miguel," Rivera said. "Youre facing professional hitters. If you dont put the ball where you need to, youre going to get hit." On Friday night, Rivera gave up a two-run shot to Cabrera, who fouled two balls off his leg before launching the tying drive. Gardner won it in the 10th with a single. Manager Joe Girardi is hardly going to start worrying now about the 43-year-old pitcher generally regarded as the best closer ever. "Its not like you forget how to pitch in a week," Girardi said. "Its impossible." Alfonso Soriano homered for his 2,000th hit in the fourth inning. He connected off Justin Verlander, as did Rodriguez. "All great pitchers have one thing in common: they attack you and throw strikes," Rodriguez on why hes had success against Verlander -- four homers in 28 at-bats. Rodriguez, who has missed most of the year while coming back from hip surgery, hit a leadoff homer in the second. His 648th career home run pushed him past Stan Musial for fifth on the RBIs list with 1,951. "It was a tremendous homer by A-Rod," Pena said. "Justin Verlander threw a great inside pitch and he used his hands and sometimes you just have to credit the hitter." Lustily booed Friday night in his season debut at Yankee Stadium, he quickly turned fans around Sunday with a soaring shot to left field that made it 1-all. Rodriguez drove in one more run with a single down the first base line in the third. "Felt good to get the first one out of the way," Rodriguez said. "Today was a step in the right direction." Late lineup-addition Brayan Pena homered in the eighth off Yankees setup man David Robertson, cutting Detroits deficit to 4-2. Pena played for Alex Avila, who was placed on the 7-day concussion list after the game. Avila was hit in the mask by a foul ball Thursday but played Saturday. He was in the initial lineup Sunday. On a glorious August afternoon in the Bronx, the Yankees avoided dropping to .500 for the first time since April 13, improving to 59-57. Taking two of three from the AL Central leaders gave New York its first series win July 5-7 after an 0-5-3 stretch. Gardner started a long-distance double play to end the eighth inning by leaping against the centre field wall to catch Torii Hunters fly and preserve the 4-2 lead. Prince Fielder had an RBI single in the first off Andy Pettitte, the eighth straight game the lefty allowed a run in the opening inning. Thats the longest such streak by a Yankees pitcher, according to STATS research back to 1920. Rodriguez made a stellar play in the eighth when he reached deep behind third base on Austin Jacksons grounder and threw to second to nail Jose Iglesias for the first out. Tigers manager Jim Leyland disputed the call, and TV replays appeared to back him up. Leyland was back on the field one batter later. Shaken after catching Hunters fly, Gardner flipped the ball to Soriano. The left fielder threw the ball to shortstop Eduardo Nunez, who tossed it to second baseman Robinson Cano. Cano easily tagged Austin Jackson, who stood confused on second base. "As I lowered my head as I rounded back to make sure I stepped on second base, I saw the ball on the ground so I thought it hadnt been caught," Jackson said. "Sometimes you have no way of telling whats going on behind you. It happens sometimes. He made a great catch." Half the team met Gardner at the dugout steps to congratulate the centre fielder. They all pounced on him after his homer. NOTES: Verlander gave up seven hits and four runs in seven innings. He struck out nine and walked one. ... Rodriguez was given an error in the third on Martinezs slow roller that he ran in for but couldnt scoop with his glove. ... Rodriguezs two hits were his first off a right-hander in 25 at-bats dating to last years playoffs. ... The Tigers recalled C Bryan Holaday from Triple-A Toledo after the game. Adidas Nmd Trainers Uk Sale . -- Aaron Rodgers looked fine on the practice field Thursday. Latest Nmd Trainers . Once again, the third baseman delivered in a big spot. Ramirez kept up his torrid hitting with a two-run homer to help back Wily Peraltas solid start, and the Brewers extended their winning streak to seven with a 4-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night. http://www.nmdukonlinestore.com/nmd-r1-trainers-outlet-deals.html . On Thursday theyll learn even more. Despite the cloud of uncertainty that has followed them around from the moment general manager Masai Ujiri was brought in to put his stamp on the franchise, the Raptors have surpassed all pre-season expectations. Adidas Nmd Chukka Outlet .C. -- The RBC Cups semifinal participants were decided by a pair of overtime games. Wholesale Adidas NMD R2 .The third-seeded Murray, who won here in 2009, will face seventh-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa next on the indoor hard court.Lake Forest, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Chicago Bears left tackle Jermon Bushrod has been ruled out for Sundays game against the Carolina Panthers. Bushrod will miss his first game since 2009 due to knee and ankle issues. He had started in 68 consecutive games. Left guard Matt Slauson is questionable after missing the last three games with an ankle injury. If Slaauson is able to return, Michael Ola will kick out to left tackle.dddddddddddd Center Roberto Garza (ankle) and cornerback Sherrick McManis (quadriceps) are doubtful. Defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff will miss his third consecutive game due to a concussion. Linebacker Shea McClellin (hand) and safety Ahmad Dixon (hamstring) are also out. ' ' '