NEW YORK -- As soon as the tying run reached base in the fifth inning, New York Yankees manager Joe Torre didn't hesitate to pull Roger Clemens and go to his bullpen.

The Great Rivera

Since 1998, Mariano Rivera has converted 20 consecutive save chances; 16 of those have been more than one inning. He's also picked up two wins where he pitched two innings. Meanwhile, since 1998 here's what all other teams have done in the postseason: Converted 16 saves of one inning Converted 6 saves of more than one inning (including three so far this year) Blown 7 leads in the 8th inning (by relievers) Blown 4 leads in the 9th inning (by relievers) Blown 2 leads in extra innings Blown 4 leads in the 8th/9th (by starters) So, while Rivera is 20-for-20, other teams are only 22-for-35 in save opportunities in the eighth inning or later (and blew four other leads). Here are Rivera's saves with innings pitched, opponent and game number in series: 1998 1 -- 1.0 vs. Texas (1) 2 -- 1.1 vs. Texas (2) 3 -- 1.2 vs. Cleveland (5) 4 -- 1.1 vs. San Diego (1) 5 -- 1.2 vs. San Diego (3) 6 -- 1.1 vs. San Diego (4) 1999 7 -- 1.0 vs. Texas (2) 8 -- 2.0 vs. Texas (3) 9 -- 1.0 vs. Boston (2) 10 -- 1.2 vs. Boston (4) 11 -- 1.1 vs. Atlanta (1) 12 -- 1.1 vs. Atlanta (4) 2000 13 -- 1.1 vs. Oakland (2) 14 -- 2.0 vs. Oakland (3) 15 -- 1.2 vs. Oakland (5) 16 -- 1.2 vs. Seattle (3) 17 -- 2.0 vs. Mets (4) 18 -- 1.0 vs. Mets (5) 2001 19 -- 2.0 vs. Oakland (3) 20 -- 2.0 vs. Oakland (5)

Why would he? Reliable relief has been the biggest key to the Yankees' success the past six postseasons under Torre.

Mike Stanton, Ramiro Mendoza and Mariano Rivera combined for 4 2-3 innings of scoreless relief Monday night to complete New York's comeback from a two-game deficit and win the decisive Game 5 against Oakland 5-3.

"That's been a pretty good equation over the years," Stanton said. "Throw as long as you can and turn the ball over to Mo. He's as good as it gets."

Only two Athletics reached base against the Yankees' bullpen, preserving the win and bringing New York one step closer to a fourth straight World Series title.

The Yankees became the first team ever to win a best-of-five series after losing the first two games at home.

"This is probably the first time we've been counted out," Stanton said. "Some people considered us underdogs coming in, then we went down 0-2. To get three straight wins, which has never been done before, is pretty special."

Just like he did in Game 4 of last year's World Series, Torre took out a starting pitcher just short of qualifying for a win in a key postseason game.

Just like the decision to remove Denny Neagle with a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning paid off a year ago, so did this one.

Clemens, a 20-game winner but still gimpy from a tight right hamstring, hit Miguel Tejada with a pitch with one out in the fifth to put runners on first and second.

"We had him in trouble, but he gave them what they needed and their bullpen did the rest," Oakland manager Art Howe said of Clemens.

With the Yankees clinging to a 4-2 lead and the dangerous Jason Giambi due up, Torre jumped out of the dugout and signaled for Stanton -- perhaps the most overlooked Yankee during their World Series run.

Starter Andy Pettitte was warming up, but Torre went with Stanton a little earlier than usual.

"When we got to Giambi, I couldn't ask Andy to come in there," Torre said. "We just accelerated one inning and got to Mike."

Stanton, one of three players to play in the past 10 postseasons, gave up a single to Giambi that made it 4-3.

But when Tejada failed to go from first to third on the play -- angering Giambi -- Stanton was able to get out of the inning by getting two flyouts. He followed with another perfect inning, lowering his career ERA in the postseason to 0.97.

"This is the fun time of year," Stanton said. "The regular season is the tough part. In the postseason, there are fewer teams, everything tightens up and it's more fun."

Mendoza set down the A's 1-2-3 in the seventh and then Torre turned the game over to Rivera, the most reliable of all relievers.

Rivera, with his nasty cut fastball, pinpoint control and steady nerves, has been automatic during the run of three straight titles. He has a 0.66 ERA in the postseason and has only allowed a run in four of his 44 outings.

	Kings of the postseason
	How Mariano Rivera and Mike Stanton have performed in the playoffs during their careers:
		Rivera	Stanton
	G	44	43
	IP	68	46.1
	H	44	33
	R	6	7
	ER	5	5
	BB	10	18
	SO	53	43
	W-L	5-0	5-1
	ERA	0.66	0.97
	SV	21	1

"It's over," New York shortstop Derek Jeter said of the team's outlook when Rivera comes into the game. "It doesn't happen all the time but that's the feeling everyone has when he comes into the game."

Rivera has converted 20 straight save chances in the postseason since the only blown save of his career in Game 4 of the AL Division Series against Cleveland in 1997.

Not surprisingly, that's the only one of 14 postseason series the Yankees have lost since Torre took over as manager.

"He did nothing but grow from that time on," Torre said. "I don't think I could ever remember a guy as efficient as Mariano."

Rivera wasn't about to blow this one. He allowed a leadoff hit to Giambi in the eighth, but retired the next three batters -- with help from Jeter's tumbling catch into the stands.

Rivera finished Oakland with a perfect ninth inning -- his second two-inning stint of the series.

"He looked like he was throwing 200 miles per hour in the ninth inning today," Torre said. "He wasn't going to be denied."

Neither were the Yankees.