Jason Giambi saved the Yankees from a Subway Series sweep. Giambi capped a ninth-inning rally with a two-run single, and the Yankees avoided an embarrassing three game sweep with a 5-4 win over the Mets last night.

Taking advantage of more sloppy defense by their cross-town rivals, the Mets scored three unearned runs in the seventh off Randy Johnson to take a 4-1 lead. But Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez hit RBI singles in the bottom half off Aaron Heilman, and the Yankees came back in the ninth against Braden Looper (2-3), improving to 2-35 when trailing after eight innings.

Tino Martinez, the last non-pitcher on the bench, pinch-hit and walked leading off the ninth, and Rodriguez doubled just inside the third-base line for his fourth hit of the game. Hideki Matsui was intentionally walked, and Giambi singled to the gap in right-center.

Mariano Rivera (4–2) worked a perfect inning for the win, dropping the Mets to 2-34 when leading after eight.

The win by the Yankees (38-37) completed a topsy-turvy, 13-game homestand that began with three-game sweeps of Pittsburgh and the Chicago Cubs, followed by five losses in six games against Tampa Bay and the Mets (37-38) – two opponents owner George Steinbrenner is particularly sensitive about.

The Yankees, urgently seeking a win, even played the infield in during the third inning.

“We’re tumbling,” manager Joe Torre said before the game. “We need to stop the fall and rebound. We certainly have not been pleased with the way we have been playing.”

Steinbrenner issued a variant of his standard statement of late through spokesman Howard Rubenstein, saying: “It’s in Joe Torre’s lap. It’s up to him.”

Until the rally, the Yankees’ defense appeared to doom them to defeat once again on a night that began as a pitchers’ duel between Johnson and Kris Benson.

After allowing seven runs in three innings Tuesday against Tampa Bay, Johnson allowed six hits and one earned run in 6 2/3 innings, using a fastball that topped out at 97 mph and a slider that got him most of his five strikeouts.

Jose Reyes’s RBI grounder put the Mets ahead in the third, but the Yankees tied it in the sixth after Gary Sheffield reached on third baseman David Wright’s 12th error. With the bases loaded and one out, Robinson Cano hit a flare that appeared headed to right field. Marlon Anderson made a diving stop and threw to second for a force-out as Sheffield scored, a play that saved a run.

Jorge Posada batted for John Flaherty, who caught Johnson for the fourth straight time, and flied to Carlos Beltran in deep left-center.

Chris Woodward started the Mets’ seventh-inning rally with a catchable, two-out double that was misplayed by Tony Womack, starting in center field for the first time since 1999.

Johnson walked Ramon Castro, throwing a wild pitch on ball four that sent Woodward to third. Anderson followed with what should have been an inning-ending grounder to second, but Cano booted it for an error as the go-ahead run scored.

Tom Gordon relieved, and Reyes’s slow grounder to first left the Yankees resembling a Little League team chasing the bouncing ball. Giambi’s short toss went off Gordon’s glove for an error that allowed Castro to score, and Anderson came home, too, as Gordon’s throw home bounced away from Posada.

Sheffield was tossed by first-base umpire CB Bucknor after his seven thinning grounder bounced off Heilman to Anderson at second. Sheffield appeared on replays to just beat the throw but was called out, then was ejected after throwing his helmet.