Cano, Teixeira and Swisher homer as Yankees beat Rays 5-4, hold on to first place in AL East

Cano’s ninth-inning homer lifts Yankees over Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Robinson Cano’s 21st home run of the season snapped a ninth-inning tie and enabled the New York Yankees to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4 and hang on to first place in the AL East on Saturday night.

While Alex Rodriguez failed for the ninth consecutive game to hit his 600th career homer, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher went deep for the defending world champions, who rallied from an early deficit against Matt Garza before beating All-Star closer Rafael Soriano (2-1) on Cano’s drive into the right field seats.

Garza allowed four runs and five hits over seven innings in his first outing since pitching the first no-hitter in Tampa Bay history. He gave up a sacrifice fly to Curtis Granderson in the second and game-tying home runs to Teixeira and Swisher in the sixth and seventh innings.

Teixeira’s two-run shot erased a 3-1 Yankees deficit. Swisher’s solo homer made it 4-all after Tampa Bay had regained the lead on Matt Joyce’s two-out, sixth-inning homer off Javier Vazquez. Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford and Jason Bartlett also drove in runs for the Rays.

David Robertson (2-3) pitched a perfect inning for the win. Mariano Rivera worked the ninth for his 22nd save in 24 opportunities, ending Tampa Bay’s seven-game winning streak and increasing New York’s division lead over second-place Tampa Bay to two games in the AL East.

Rodriguez, 9 for 37 with eight RBIs since hitting career homer No. 599 on July 22, went 0 for 3 with a walk and one strikeout.

The victory capped a busy day for the Yankees, who put together three deals before Saturday’s trade deadline, acquiring slugger Lance Berkman from the Houston Astros and outfielder Austin Kearns and reliever Kerry Wood from the Cleveland Indians.

Berkman made his debut for his new team, batting second and going 0 for 4 with a strikeout as the designated hitter. Kearns was available off the bench, and Yankees manager Joe Girardi said there’s a chance Wood could join the team in time for Sunday’s season finale against the Rays.

Tampa Bay didn’t make nearly as much noise before the 4 p.m. deadline, acquiring reliever Chad Qualls from the Arizona Diamondbacks but coming up short in other efforts to bolster the roster for the final two months of the regular season — and possibly beyond.

Manager Joe Maddon said before the game that he wasn’t concerned that the Yankees made some high-profile moves, while the Rays will go forward with essentially the same roster.

“From our perspective, we’re good right now. We’re playing well,” Maddon said. “We did try to do some different things we thought could help us without interfering with what was going on. It did not want to happen, so your just turn the page and move on.”

Garza, who walked one and struck out nine, limited the Yankees to a pair of doubles by Cano until Derek Jeter led off the sixth with a doubled over Joyce’s head in right field. After Berkman fouled out, Teixeira brought a large contingent of New York fans among the sold-out crowd of 36,973 to their feet with his 21st homer to make it 3-all.

The right-hander settled to strike out Rodriguez and Cano to end the inning, but the Yankees weren’t finished. After Joyce homered off Vazquez to put Tampa Bay up 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth, Swisher teed off on a 3-2 pitch from Garza leading off the seventh as New York pulled even again.

Swisher also homered in Friday night’s 3-2 loss the Rays. His 12 homers against the Rays since the start of the 2009 season are the most by any player off Tampa Bay pitching.

Vazquez allowed four runs and eight hits over 6 1-3 innings.

NOTES: Teixeira was 1-for-15 lifetime against Garza before his home run. … RHP Chan Ho Park, designated for assignment by the Yankees on Saturday, got a Rodriguez home uniform signed by the slugger before leaving the clubhouse. Park is hopeful of pitching again in the majors before the season ends. … Qualls fills a need for the Rays with right-handed reliever Grant Balfour going on the 15-day disabled list with a ribcage strain. Balfour’s injury was the result of what manager Joe Maddon described as horseplay between the reliever and pitching coach Jim Hickey. … The Yankees optioned 1B Juan Miranda and OF Colin Curtis to Triple-A Scranton/Wikes-Barre. RHP Alfredo Aceves (strained lower back) from moved from the 15- to 60-day disabled list.