NEW YORK -- The Yankees did without a quality effort from their ace starter, and were surprised to see their Hall of Fame closer once again turn mortal. By the end, it still didn't matter.
Melky Cabrera scored the winning run on Derek Jeter's ninth-inning dribbler Monday as the Yankees edged the Orioles, 7-6, bailing out ineffective performances from both Chien-Ming Wang and Mariano Rivera.
The Yankees, baseball's best team since the All-Star break, haven't yet found a hurdle that can keep them down in the second half. New York's latest victory, opening a seven-game homestand, was its fourth straight.
"Every time out, we need to try to win, regardless of who's pitching," said Jeter, who connected off Orioles sidearmer Chad Bradford. "Guys aren't going to go out there and pitch perfect at all times. Mo has picked us up plenty of times and it felt good to pick him up."
With home runs from Bobby Abreu and Wilson Betemit, plus another electric inning by rookie Joba Chamberlain, the Yankees delivered a one-run lead to Rivera in the ninth inning, overcoming five runs charged to Wang.
Rivera had converted 19 consecutive save opportunities dating back to April 28, but the Orioles detached the string, despite a terrific throw to home plate by center fielder Melky Cabrera that cut down what would have been the tying run.
It mattered little because one batter later, Brian Roberts dunked a bloop single to right field, scoring Tike Redman ahead of Abreu's high throw home to send the game to the bottom of the ninth, where the Yankees rescued their treasured fireman.
"It's great," Rivera said. "Today I wasn't able to hold the lead, so the guys came back and scored. That's good to see guys picking you up."
In the decisive frame, Cabrera was hit by a one-out pitch and moved to third when pinch-hitter Jason Giambi -- a reflection of the Yankees' suddenly-lethal wealth of bench talent -- punched a single through the right side of the infield.
Jeter followed by getting enough of a check-swing to dribble the ball past Bradford and force the second baseman Roberts to throw home on a fielder's choice, failing to catch Cabrera giving the Yankees their 24th victory in 32 games since the All-Star break.
"We've been on the balls of our feet, basically," said Yankees manager Joe Torre. "We're not waiting around for something to happen. We're trying to make things happen."
The Yankees had enough early to bail out a shaky first inning from Wang, who had allowed a season-high eight runs to the Blue Jays in his previous start last Wednesday and gave up three more in the first before settling.
"We made some adjustments during the game, trying to make him realize that pitches were up in the zone," catcher Jorge Posada said. "He felt strong and wanted to throw a little harder, and I told him, 'Less is better.' It helped him a little."
Matched with Orioles right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, Wang proved better Monday, though it didn't start that way. The right-hander was buoyed by Abreu's two-run homer off Guthrie in the bottom half and Betemit's shot in the second.
Wang -- who drew pitching coach Ron Guidry to a bases-loaded situation before he even recorded an out -- was not stellar, but he received enough support to leave as the pitcher of record.
Wang allowed five runs and eight hits over six-plus innings, walking one and struck out two. He said that he needed to keep the ball down and get more on top of the ball, tasks that were more efficient after the first inning.
"It looked like he was trying to be a little too deliberate, trying to make pitches," Torre said. "The way his ball moves, it's very tough for him to do that."
In the fifth, Wang experienced a rarity, giving up a solo home run on a changeup to Corey Patterson -- the first blast allowed by Wang in 56 2/3 innings. Left-hander Ron Villone inherited a runner in the seventh and threw two wild pitches, allowing a run, but otherwise recorded three outs.
Chamberlain nearly stole the show in the eighth, bringing the crowd of 54,398 to chant his first name as he made his Yankee Stadium debut, striking out two in a perfect frame.
"To be honest with you, I didn't even know who I was facing," Chamberlain said. "Sometimes I like it better that way. I just went in and attacked the zone."
New York roughed up Guthrie for six runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings, including the two home runs. The right-hander walked two and struck out three, throwing a wild pitch while also allowing run-scoring hits to Posada and Cabrera, who extended his hitting streak to a career-high 18 games with a double in the fourth.
Abreu continued his RBI surge with his 12th blast in the first inning, giving the outfielder 21 RBIs in his last 13 games. Betemit boosted New York with his second blast since joining the Yankees, reaching the wall in front of the right-center bleachers.
"That's how we are," Abreu said. "We know we can score some runs. We've got the team to score a lot of runs. Early in the game, it doesn't matter. We've got late innings and we can make comebacks."
