NEW YORK — Mariano Rivera has 500 saves — and one precious RBI.

Guess which feat he was most excited about.

On a New York night that belonged to baseball's most unflappable closer, Rivera became the second reliever to reach the 500-save milestone when the Yankees held off the punchless Mets, 4-2, yesterday for a Subway Series sweep.

He joined Milwaukee's Trevor Hoffman, who has 571 saves, as the only major leaguers with 500. The biggest surprise, though: Rivera drew a bases-loaded walk to add a ninth-inning insurance run.

Rivera fouled off a 2-2 pitch from Francisco Rodriguez before working out a walk for his first career RBI.

"I had one thing in mind — just try to do something," Rivera said, before expounding on his save. "Don't get me wrong, it's definitely special."

Chien-Ming Wang won for the first time in more than a year and Rivera got four outs, securing the Yankees' fifth consecutive victory — all on the road.

Mark Teixeira hit a two-run double off Livan Hernandez (5-3) in a three-run first, when the Yankees had two of their four hits.

The injury-depleted Mets managed five, their best offensive output of the three-game series. The Yankees took five of six games from their crosstown rivals this season, handing the Mets their first sweep in 13 series at their new home, Citi Field.

"He's one of the premier closers in my time," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said about Rivera. "I wasn't applauding him tonight, but you do have to applaud that."

BRAVES 2, RED SOX 1:

Rookie Tommy Hanson (4-0) threw six scoreless innings despite a bout with the flu, and homers by Chipper Jones and Garret Anderson carried host Atlanta past Boston, preventing a Red Sox sweep. Hanson limited Boston to two hits and extended his scoreless streak to 20 innings.

TIGERS 4, ASTROS 3:

Brandon Inge hit a two-run homer off Jose Valverde (0-2) with two outs in the ninth inning as Detroit averted a sweep at Houston. Valverde walked Marcus Thames before Inge drove a 1-0 pitch over the left-field wall for his 18th home run.

ROYALS 3, PIRATES 2:

Zack Greinke (10-3) didn't allow a run until making his final pitch before a rain delay in the seventh inning, and Kansas City kept host Pittsburgh from sweeping an interleague series for the first time since 2001. David DeJesus hit a solo homer off Charlie Morton (0-1) and drove in two runs.

RAYS 5, MARLINS 2:

David Price (2-2) allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings and Tampa Bay beat host Florida to complete a three-game sweep. Price (2-2) gave up two hits, five walks and had four strikeouts.

REDS 8, INDIANS 1:

Brandon Phillips had three hits, three runs and three RBIs as Cincinnati took two of three from host Cleveland. Micah Owings (5-8) gave up one run and five hits over six innings for the Reds.

PHILLIES 5, BLUE JAYS 4:

Chase Utley hit a two-run triple, Jamie Moyer won back-to-back starts for the first time in more than two months and Philadelphia won two of three from host Toronto. Moyer (6-6) allowed four runs and five hits in five innings to win consecutive starts for the first time since April 21 and 26.

NATIONALS 5, ORIOLES 3:

John Lannan (5-5) took a four-hitter into the eighth inning, Adam Dunn hit a colossal home run, and Washington defeated host Baltimore to avoid a three-game sweep. The Nats trailed 1-0 in the fourth inning before Dunn connected off David Hernandez (1-2) following a double by Ryan Zimmerman.

WHITE SOX 6, CUBS 0:

John Danks (6-6) pitched seven shutout innings, Chris Getz stole home against Carlos Zambrano (4-3) and the host White Sox got another run on a bases-loaded infield fly rule to beat the Cubs. Danks allowed four hits and reliever Scott Linebrink completed the shutout as the White Sox won two of three.

TWINS 6, CARDINALS 2:

Francisco Liriano (4-8) scattered four hits in seven innings, Justin Morneau hit a three-run home run and Minnesota took two of three from host St. Louis. Mark DeRosa, acquired Saturday night from the Indians, batted cleanup and had three groundouts and a walk for the Cardinals.

MARINERS 4, DODGERS 2:

Jose Lopez had three hits, including a two-run double, Adrian Beltre singled home a run in his last game before undergoing shoulder surgery, and Seattle won two of three from host Los Angeles. Beltre is expected to miss six to eight weeks following surgery tomorrow to have bone spurs removed from his non-throwing shoulder.

ROCKIES 3, ATHLETICS 1:

Aaron Cook (8-3) took a shutout into the ninth inning and won his fifth consecutive start as Colorado swept host Oakland. Chris Iannetta, Carlos Gonzalez and Seth Smith each drove in a run for the Rockies.

ANGELS 12, DIAMONDBACKS 8:

Gary Matthews Jr. stole home and hit a three-run double, and Juan Rivera, Jeff Mathis and Maicer Izturis homered as Los Angeles beat host Arizona. The Angels swept the three-game series and wrapped up interleague play with a majors-leading 14-4 record.

PADRES 2, RANGERS 0:

Chad Gaudin (4-6) allowed one hit over eight scoreless innings and Scott Hairston snapped an 0-for-17 slide with a homer as visiting San Diego won its first series in a month. Gaudin gave up a single to Michael Young in the first and then retired 23 of the last 25 batters he faced, including the last 13.

GIANTS 7, BREWERS 0:

Ryan Sadowski (1-0) scattered four hits over six scoreless innings in his major league debut and San Francisco avoided a three-game sweep at Milwaukee. Matt Downs hit his first major league homer for the Giants.