originally was scheduled to work home plate, but the assignments

NEW YORK -- Desperately trying to gain ground in the playoff hunt, the New York Yankees have no time to mess around. That means an early call to Mariano Rivera now and again. Struggling ace CC Sabathia pitched effectively into the eighth inning before Rivera earned his first four-out save in more than two years, helping New York hold off the Chicago White Sox 6-5 on Wednesday night for a three-game sweep. "There are some situations that I have to do it. Tonight was one of those nights," Rivera said. "We had a lead and had to hold it. We need to do whatever it takes. Two outs, three outs, four outs -- whatever it takes." Robinson Cano homered for the Yankees, looking to chase down a playoff berth with their late-season charge. Brett Gardner hit a two-run triple and Lyle Overbay an RBI double in a four-run fourth against Erik Johnson (0-1), who was making his major league debut. New York, which entered 2 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay for the second AL wild card, has won 15 of 18 home games and 17 of 24 overall. Swept in three games at Chicago from Aug. 5-7, the Yankees returned the favour a month later. Next up for New York, an 11-game gauntlet against division rivals Boston and Baltimore -- beginning Thursday night with a four-game set against the first-place Red Sox. After winning 10 of 12, the last-place White Sox have lost six straight to start a 10-game trip against AL East contenders. Cano finished with three hits and two RBIs. With the Yankees leading 6-1 and seemingly in control, Sabathia (13-11) walked off to a warm ovation with two on and one out in the eighth. But normally reliable setup man David Robertson gave up an RBI single to Avisail Garcia, a two-run single to Josh Phegley with two outs and an RBI single to rookie Marcus Semien that cut the cushion to one. Well aware of his teams precarious position in the pennant race, manager Joe Girardi quickly went to Rivera, who threw a called third strike past Alejandro De Aza to end the inning. Rivera then got three quick outs in the ninth for his second save in two nights and 41st this season in 46 tries. It was his first save of more than three outs since July 24, 2011, against Oakland. "I feel hes capable of doing it," Girardi said. "I brought Robertson in for four outs the other night, as well. As much as I can do it, and theyre able, I will do it." Baseballs career saves leader with 649, Rivera missed most of last season with a knee injury. The only other time in 55 appearances this season the 43-year-old closer pitched more than one inning was when he blew a save Aug. 7 against the White Sox and wound up getting six outs. "We brought in guys who have done the job all year and eventually, we got the job done," Girardi said. Sabathia had his best outing in a month and improved to 19-4 in 33 career starts against the White Sox, the lowest-scoring team in the American League this year. The 23-year-old Johnson allowed five runs -- three earned -- and seven hits over six innings. A second-round draft pick two years ago, he went 12-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 24 starts combined at Triple-A Charlotte and Double-A Birmingham this season. "It was a great feeling to be out there," said Johnson, who acknowledged being nervous early. "I think I could have just filled up the strike zone a bit better, worked ahead, especially with all my pitches. That was the main thing." Combined with Semien and reliever Daniel Webb, they made the White Sox the first team this season to have three players make their major league debuts in the same game. "Thats the position that were in," said manager Robin Ventura, happy with the efforts of all three. "Its a positive step." Cano hit Johnsons 12th pitch to right field for his 203rd career home run, moving ahead of Hall of Famer Bill Dickey for 15th place on the franchise list. Alex Rodriguez singled to start the fourth, and Johnson hurt himself with a bad throw. He shattered Ichiro Suzukis bat on a slow roller, then babied his soft throw to first base. Jeff Keppinger failed to scoop it, and Suzuki was safe on Johnsons error. "It was just a tough bang-bang play and I just rushed it," Johnson said. "That kind of opened up the rally." Overbay hit an RBI double and Gardner tripled to deep left-centre before scoring on Canos two-out infield single, a comebacker that deflected off Johnsons glove. Alfonso Soriano added a sacrifice fly in the seventh. NOTES: The game began with only three umpires while Bruce Dreckman was treated by Yankees medical staff for a finger injury he sustained away from the ballpark. Dreckman came onto the field for the bottom of the first inning, umpiring at third base. He originally was scheduled to work home plate, but the assignments were rotated before the game. Crew chief Tim Welke moved from first base to home plate. ... Yankees RHP Ivan Nova was selected AL pitcher of the month for August after going 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA in six starts. Nova (8-4, 2.88 ERA) pitches Thursday night against Red Sox RHP Jake Peavy (11-5, 3.91). ... Semien singled in his first career at-bat. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . -- Among the 31 players at the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp, none feels closer to cracking the NHL roster than right winger Aaron Palushaj. Cheap Devils Jerseys China . Listen to the Rangers vs. Kings live on TSN Radio starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. You can also stream the post-game press conferences live on TSN. http://www.cheapdevilsjerseys.com/ . - Wesley Matthews got a chance to practice his bow-and-arrow 3-point celebration on Sunday night. Wholesale Devils Jerseys . His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Cheap Devils Jerseys Authentic . - First-timer Chris Harris Jr.SAN DIEGO -- In just more than one week, the guys who were on the sidelines Thursday night will be on the field, and the ones who were on the field will be on the sidelines or unemployed. In a scheduling rarity, the San Diego Chargers beat the Arizona Cardinals 12-9. Theyll play again at Glendale on Sept. 8 in the second half of a Monday Night Football doubleheader. Both teams rested their starters, leaving backups to compete for roster spots. Trips inside the 20-yard line were rare and neither team scored a touchdown, leaving the field goal kickers to fight it out. The Chargers did get to the Arizona 6 in the closing minutes, but third-string quarterback Brad Sorensen took a knee on three straight snaps. Nick Novak was good from 35, 39, 55 and 37 yards. Arizonas Chandler Catanzaro kicked field goals of 42, 38 and 35 yards. Leading 9-3, the Chargers went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2 with 2 seconds left in the first half, but Kellen Clemens pass to Dontrelle Inman was intercepted by Jimmy Legree, who returned it 68 yards before being dragged down on a horse-collar tackle by Inman.dddddddddddd That gave Arizona the ball at the San Diego 20 and Catanzaro kicked a 38-yarder to pull within three. San Diegos Torrence Allen fumbled the second half kickoff and Arizonas Jalen Parmale recovered, setting up Catanzaros tying 35-yard field goal. Chargers rookie Tevin Reese had a rough game with several drops. He also fumbled in the third quarter, but centre Khalil Wilkes recovered and Novak kicked a go-ahead, 37-yard field goal on the next play. Arizona rookie quarterback Logan Thomas played the whole game. He completed 9 of 21 passes for 73 yards. He was intercepted by rookie Alden Darby in the closing minutes, giving the Chargers the ball on the Arizona 17. Clemens, San Diegos backup quarterback, was 14 of 25 for 158 yards. San Diego rookie Marion Grice, a sixth-round draft pick competing for the fourth running spot, gained 79 yards on 17 carries. Branden Oliver, an undrafted rookie, had 71 yards on 16 carries. 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