Johnny Damon proved he’s still got some pop in his bat, and the surging Yankees showed off a couple of lively young arms in their rebuilt bullpen yesterday.

Damon hit a tiebreaking homer and New York got lights-out relief pitching from rookies Joba Chamberlain and Edwar Ramirez, sending Chien-Ming Wang and the Yankees to a 9–3 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Wilson Betemit had four RBIs and Hideki Matsui drove in three early runs for New York, which took the final three meetings in a key four-game series between AL playoff contenders. “We have guys who understand this is crunch time, guys who know how to flip the switch,” Damon said. “Winning three of four from Detroit — that’s no small task.”

With his 1,149th win as manager of the Yankees, Joe Torre tied Hall of Famer Casey Stengel for second place on the franchise list behind Joe McCarthy (1,460).

Damon, banged-up much of the season and not starting as often as he’d like lately, finished with three hits to help New York win for the 15th time in 20 tries. The Yankees (70–54) equaled a season high at 16 games above .500. “It was another test. The season is all about testing yourself,” Torre said. “We have a lot of confidence in ourselves.”

Playing without Derek Jeter, given a rare day off, the Yankees took advantage of an error by slick-fielding third baseman Brandon Inge in the fifth and broke it open on Betemit’s three-run double off Aquilino Lopez with two outs in the eighth.

Betemit started at shortstop for Jeter and played a big role as New York improved to an AL best 27–11 since the All-Star break. The Yankees, right in the thick of a close wild-card race, moved within four games of first place Boston in the AL East. That matches the closest they’ve been since after games of April 24. New York also was four out after beating Baltimore last Monday, before losing three straight.

“We have a lot of good things going on,” Damon said.

The Tigers, who have dropped eight of 12, fell to 15–23 since the break. They remained 1 1/2 games back of first-place Cleveland in the AL Central.

“We’re striking out way too much. When you get the starting pitcher in trouble in the fourth or fifth inning, you’ve got to put the ball in play,” manager Jim Leyland said. “Bad at-bats with men in scoring position.”

The Yankees open another big series Monday night with the first of three games at the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels, a longtime nemesis. Detroit heads home for three key games against the Indians starting Tuesday, then hosts the Yankees four times next weekend.