Mariano Rivera did the near impossible yesterday. He made Alex Rodriguez a footnote to the Yankees victory. How did Rivera manage that?
“He showed he’s human,” said teammate Lyle Overbay.
Rivera blew his third consecutive save, something he never had done in his Hall of Fame-bound career, by surrendering ninth-inning solo home runs to Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez.
“It’s not surprising. You’re talking about professional hitters, but at the same time I didn’t put the ball where I wanted to,” said Rivera, who — if it does happen — usually gets beat on bloops and bleeders, not bombs the opposite way like Cabrera delivered or shots to the second deck, where Martinez’s salvo landed.
For Rivera, satisfaction came when Brett Gardner delivered his second game-ending hit in three games, homering off Jose Veras in the home portion of the ninth for a 5-4 Yankees victory. So the day ended in a win. That’s what mattered.
“It’s not a relief for me. We won the game — that’s the most important thing,” said Rivera, credited with the win.
A win the hard way — and the Yankees were happy for him.
“He’s been picking us up all year, the least we can do is pick him up,” Overbay said.
When Rivera blew a save Wednesday in Chicago, the Yankees lost. On Friday, in one of the more epic individual confrontations in memory, Cabrera overcame an ailing hip and two painful foul balls off his leg to smash a two-out, two-run bomb. But the Yankees eventually won that game on a Gardner hit — like yesterday.
But three straight blown saves?
“I don’t think any of us [are] shocked. This is a tough game. They’ve got a good lineup over there,” said setup man David Robertson. “I don’t doubt [Rivera’s] abilities. It’s just a rare occurrence.”
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First time ever qualifies as rare.
“There’s always a first time. I don’t pay attention to that,” Rivera said. “I just try to go out and do my job. The last three opportunities, I haven’t done it.
“It’s what I’ve been doing for 19 years,” Rivera said when asked about concern. “I don’t worry about it. We always have this kind of conversation. Early, late, middle of the season. It happens.”
Manager Joe Girardi sounded as unfazed as Rivera.
“It’s not like you forget how to pitch in a week. It’s not possible. He had a bad week,” Girardi said.
Rivera had a chance for payback against Cabrera with the Yankees up, 4-2. But Cabrera sent a high 2-2 cutter into the seats in right for his 36th homer. After Prince Fielder popped out on a typical Rivera jam job, Martinez crushed an 0-1 offering for his 10th homer. It was the 70th career homer Rivera has yielded. Cabrera is the fifth guy with two homers against him (joining Rafael Palmiero, Aubrey Huff, Edgar Martinez and Evan Longoria). It was the first time since May 7, 2009, vs. the Rays that Rivera yielded two homers in an inning.
All rare stuff. Top that, A-Rod.
“I left the balls up. I didn’t get them where I needed to,” Rivera said. “With Martinez, the ball was just laying flat up. With Miguel … you don’t put the ball where you needed to, you’re going to get hit.”
fred.kerber@nypost.com