Yankees’ reign of East Division ends

BALTIMORE -- Alex Rodriguez did his part to keep the New York Yankees in contention for the East Division title.

Rodriguez hit his 54th homer, drove in four runs and scored twice Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles. But a rare blown save by Mariano Rivera and a Boston victory officially ended New York’s run of nine consecutive division titles.

Melvin Mora bunted in the winning run in the 10th inning, giving the Orioles a 10-9 victory.

Johnny Damon also homered for New York, which became the first team in major league history to hit 200 home runs in eight consecutive seasons.

New York is assured the wild card and will open the playoffs at Cleveland.

The Yankees took a 9-6 lead into the bottom of the ninth, seemingly a sure thing given that they were 85-1 when leading after eight innings and Rivera was on the mound.

But Baltimore loaded the bases with two out, and Jay Payton tied the score with a triple. Rookie Scott Moore, who already had three hits, followed with a groundout.

It was Rivera’s fourth blown save of the season, only the second since April 28.