NEW YORK — With the souvenir ball from his 400th save nestled in the pocket of his mitt, Mariano Rivera got a warm hug from manager Joe Torre and flashed his proudest smile.

The closer by which all closers will soon be judged, Rivera waved to a few fans and disappeared into the dugout, another victory safely secured for the New York Yankees.

"It's amazing, amazing to even think about it," Rivera said yesterday after escaping two jams and getting six outs to preserve New York's 6-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. "I've been blessed."

Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run homer, and Derek Jeter connected for the first time in two months to give New York an early lead against Freddy Garcia (10-6).

Jaret Wright (6-5) got into the sixth inning and his bullpen held on, sending the Yankees to their first series sweep of the White Sox since May 2002.

Rivera became the fourth major league pitcher to reach 400 saves — and he had to work hard for this one.

"For a guy who has pitched as a closer for less than 10 years, and to have been as consistent as he has been, to get there as quickly as he did, it's just remarkable," Torre said. "I've been very fortunate. He's been with me the whole time I've been here. I can't tell you what that means."

With a four-run lead suddenly down to two, Torre pulled setup man Kyle Farnsworth with two runners on and none out in the eighth. The sellout crowd of 54,781 burst into a huge ovation as Rivera entered.

After seven pitches, the Yankees were out of trouble in the eighth.

Rivera retired Juan Uribe on a popup before speedy Scott Podsednik grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Chicago's first two batters reached safely in the ninth, but Rivera induced a double-play grounder from Paul Konerko and struck out Jermaine Dye to end it.

Twins 5, Indians 2: Carlos Silva (5-9) gave up two runs on five hits over six innings, Rondell White hit his first homer of the season in his first game back from the disabled list, and Luis Castillo and Michael Cuddyer also homers to lead host Minnesota.

Orioles 4, Rangers 0: Miguel Tejada and Nick Markakis homered, and Rodrigo Lopez (6-10) gave up five hits and in 5 2/3 inning and three relievers completed the five-hitter as host Baltimore beat Texas.

Royals 9, Tigers 6: Joey Gathright drove in four runs, Scott Elarton (4-9) yielded three runs and three hits in six innings, helping Kansas City beat Detroit for the first time in 12 games this season. The Royals ended the Tigers' 10-game home winning streak.

Blue Jays 4, Mariners 3: Frank Catalanotto singled home Gregg Zaun from third base with two outs in the bottom of the 11th innings as Toronto improved to 5-0 in extra-inning games with a victory over Seattle.

Athletics 8, Red Sox 1: Joe Blanton (9-8) gave up five hits, including Alex Gonzalez's solo homer in the fifth, in seven innings and Mark Kotsay went 4 for 5 with three RBIs to lead visiting Oakland over Boston.

Angels 7, Devil Rays 5: Howie Kendrick had three hits, including an RBI single to break a 5-all tie in the eighth, and Jose Molina doubled home Kendrick to cap the two-run rally as host Los Angeles beat Tampa Bay for its 11th win in 12 games.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Braves 10, Padres 5: Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer to give him an extra-base hit in 14 straight games, tying a 79-year-old big league record, and visiting Atlanta completed a three-game sweep of NL West-leading San Diego with its fifth straight victory.

Jones homered to right-center with two outs in the fourth to give the Braves a 7-1 lead. The hit tied the big league record set in 1927 by Pittsburgh's Paul Waner.

REDS 6, ROCKIES 4: Adam Dunn led off the bottom of the eighth by hitting Tom Martin's first pitch for his 30th homer, pinch-hitter Rich Aurilia had a two-run single and Royce Clayton a two-run double in a five-run surge that lifted Cincinnati over Colorado.

Marlins 9, Astros 3: Hanley Ramirez and Wes Helms each homered and drove in three runs, and Jeremy Hermida and Mike Jacobs also homered to help host Florida split a four-game series with Houston.

Cardinals 11, Dodgers 3: Albert Pujols was 4 for 5 with three RBIs and host St. Louis beat up on Los Angeles and All-Star starter Brad Penny (10-3), who gave up six runs on 10 hits in five innings.

Nationals 8, Pirates 4: Nick Johnson drove in two runs with a tiebreaking double and Jose Guillen later added a two-run double to cap a four-run top of the 11th inning as visiting Washington avoided a three-game sweep by rallying against Pittsburgh.

Brewers 10, Diamondbacks 5: Geoff Jenkins, Prince Fielder and Corey Hart homered in support of Dave Bush (6-7), who allowed five runs and nine hits in 6 1/3 innings as visiting Milwaukee snapped its five-game losing skid and Arizona's five-game winning streak.