MLB

New Yankee Lillibridge atones for error with game-winning hit in ninth

Brett Gardner (above) also robbed Elvis Andrus of an extra-base hit in the bottom of the eighth to help keep the Yankees in the game.

Brett Gardner (above) also robbed Elvis Andrus of an extra-base hit in the bottom of the eighth to help keep the Yankees in the game. (Getty Images)

LATE-INNING HEROICS: Eduardo Nunez hits the game-tying triple in the ninth inning of the Yankees’ 5-4 come-from-behind victory over the Rangers last night. Brett Gardner (inset) also robbed Elvis Andrus of an extra-base hit in the bottom of the eighth to help keep the Yankees in the game. (EPA; Getty Images)

ARLINGTON, Texas — Less than a week in pinstripes and before he played a game at Yankee Stadium, Brent Lillibridge was already fitted for goat horns because of a huge error playing a position Alex Rodriguez was slated to handle by now.

And standing on deck in the ninth inning, Lillibridge knew that if Eduardo Nunez didn’t get on base against Joe Nathan that Joe Girardi was going to use Travis Hafner to pinch hit.

Watching Nunez battle Nathan, Lillibridge decided he needed a mental adjustment.

“I stopped pouting after a couple of pitches,’’ said Lillibridge, who watched Nunez’s triple score Vernon Wells to tie the score.

With Luis Cruz unavailable due to a knee injury that will likely land him on the DL, possibly as soon as today, Girardi had nobody else but catcher Chris Stewart to play third if he hit for Lillibridge, a journeyman utility player.

So the manager stuck with Lillibridge and watched him dump a slider into left field for a single that plated Nunez and lifted the Yankees to a 5-4 victory in front of a stunned Rangers Ballpark crowd of 42,739.

“I was trying to stay up the middle and I saw the slider was big,’’ said Lillibridge, who drove in the Yankees’ third run in the fourth inning with a fielder’s choice. “As the new guy you want to make plays and not make waves. I made up for it. It was a tough start to the day but finished strong.’’

After the two-run ninth that made a winner out of Joba Chamberlain, who received a huge assist from Brett Gardner’s diving grab on Elvis Andrus’ two-out fly to center in the eighth, Mariano Rivera worked a perfect ninth for his 32nd save in 34 chances.

The victory enabled the Yankees to remain seven games back of the AL East-leading Red Sox, who beat the second-place Rays in Boston.

“If we didn’t win, it would have meant we didn’t do our job from an offensive standpoint,’’ said Wells, who drew a one-out walk from Nathan and went to second on a wild pitch when Nathan’s front foot slipped on the mound. “When you score [early] runs, you want to add on.’’

Watching a Yankees comeback is rare. That they did it against Nathan wasn’t. The Stony Brook product is 0-6 with five blown saves in 14 chances against the Yankees and has a 4.50 ERA in 30 innings during the regular season and postseason.

The Rangers lost for the first time when leading after eight innings, falling to 51-1 in those spots.

Two runs in the third when Melky Mesa and Austin Romine doubled and another in the fourth handed Phil Hughes a 3-0 lead. However, Lillibridge’s inability to handle Nelson Cruz’s hard smash opened the door for a four-run Rangers sixth that put the hosts ahead 4-3 and chased Hughes, who left with a 3-2 lead but watched Boone Logan serve up a two-run homer to Mitch Moreland.

“Having a 3-0 lead and let it get away would have been a bad night,’’ said Hughes, who allowed three unearned runs, four hits, walked three and fanned one in 5 2/3 innings. “It was a grind, it wasn’t easy.’’

Nothing is easy for the Yankees. Sunday night in Boston, CC Sabathia allowed a 3-0 cushion get away. Monday night they had three hits and coming into last night’s action, the Yankees’ last 20 hits were singles.

Then Nunez ripped a triple on a hanging slider that might have been an inside-the-park homer if he hadn’t stumbled between second and third, giving Lillibridge a new life. Hold the goat horns.

george.king@nypost.com