updated 7:17 p.m. ET July 5, 2008

NEW YORK - Mariano Rivera was on the ropes, and the Boston Red Sox were poised to earn a memorable comeback victory.

That’s when the New York Yankees closer found his classic form again.

Rivera pitched himself in and out of trouble Saturday, escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the ninth inning and preserving a 2-1 victory.

“You can’t have doubts,” Rivera said. “You have to make pitches. If you have doubts, a lot of things can happen.”

After Mike Mussina pitched six shutout innings, Rivera took over in the ninth with a 2-0 lead. The Red Sox quickly scored a run and were poised to get more, but Rivera struck out Coco Crisp, got Jason Varitek on a popup and fanned Julio Lugo for his 23rd save.

“We gave ourselves a great chance with really good at-bats in the ninth and then Mariano went to work and really carved us up for three batters,” Boston manager Terry Francona said. “He gave himself no wiggle room and he didn’t need it.”

The Red Sox were on the brink of capturing the first three of the four-game series and fourth in a row in the season series when Rivera escaped.

“It was a big game for us,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

Melky Cabrera and Brett Gardner, two of New York’s three healthy outfielders, each drove in a run and made a nice play in the field. Cabrera had an RBI single in the second and Gardner’s sacrifice fly made it 2-0 in the sixth.

Justin Masterson (4-3) hit three batters, threw a wild pitch and walked two, but managed to hold the Yankees in check in his six innings. The rookie right-hander allowed six hits in his first appearance against New York.

Dustin Pedroia went 2-for-4 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games for Boston, which almost dealt the Yankees a heartbreaking loss.

“When you get bases loaded and nobody out, most of the time we’re still playing,” Francona said.

Mussina (11-6) allowed four hits and walked one in his first win over the Red Sox since June 5, 2006. He was 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA in his previous six games against Boston.

Mussina has won 10 of his last 14 starts and his 11 wins are his most before the All-Star break since he went 12-3 in the first half in 2002. His latest effort came in front of Francona, who will manage the AL in the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium on July 15, but Mussina wasn’t interested in lobbying on the eve of the rosters announcement.

“There are a lot of guys who deserve to go, a lot more than there are spots in both leagues,” he said. “You could make a whole other team.”

Jose Veras and Kyle Farnsworth each worked a perfect inning to set up Rivera, who hit two batters in a game for the first time in his career. He also allowed a run in a save situation for the first time this season.

“It definitely was interesting,” Rivera said. “You definitely don’t want to get into that situation but it happens. You just have to deal with it.”

Boston’s first four batters reached and Mike Lowell’s RBI single cut it to 2-1. Crisp’s strikeout was the 900th of Rivera’s career, but it was Varitek who was really kicking himself after the game.

“He’s Mariano Rivera, but in that situation I’ve got to do something more,” said Varitek, who popped out on a 2-0 pitch.

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