NEW YORK — Derek Jeter tied Lou Gehrig atop the Yankees hit list and New York rallied for a 4-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays last night thanks to a three-run homer by pinch-hitter Jorge Posada in the eighth inning.

Jeter got three hits to match Gehrig with 2,721 in a Yankees uniform, a mark the Hall of Famer had held by himself for more than 70 years. Jeter had a chance to break the record, but he walked against reliever Grant Balfour after New York's comeback in the eighth.

"He's one of the classiest people to ever play this game," Jeter said during an on-field, postgame television interview pumped over the stadium public address system. "It's just kind of mind-boggling to have my name next to his."

The Yankees are off today. Jeter gets his next chance to break the record tomorrow night at home against Baltimore.

"I have a pretty good feeling that it's going to happen pretty quickly," manager Joe Girardi said.

Shut down by rookie Jeff Niemann most of the night, the Yankees completed a four-game sweep and sent the AL champion Rays to their eighth consecutive loss. It's their longest skid since dropping eight in a row in July 2007.

After entering the game in an 0-for-12 slump, his longest hitless stretch this season, Jeter broke out of the rut with a bunt single toward third base leading off the bottom of the first inning.

He added a ground-rule double to straightaway center in the fifth and tied the record with a sharp grounder inside the first-base line past a diving Chris Richard in the seventh.

RED SOX 7, ORIOLES 5:

Pinch-hitter Victor Martinez hit a three-run double in the bottom of the seventh to break a 4-all tie, and Billy Wagner (1-0) pitched a perfect seventh for the first AL victory of his career as Boston beat Baltimore.

TWINS 4, BLUE JAYS 1:

Justin Morneau and Orlando Cabrera homered and visiting Minnesota beat Toronto and Roy Halladay (14-9), who gave up four runs and nine hits in his first lost to the Twins in 11 career starts. He had been 8-0.

RANGERS 10, INDIANS 0:

Scott Feldman (16-4) scattered five hits over seven innings, Esteban German went 5 for 5 and Marlon Byrd hit a three-run homer as visiting Texas completed a three-game sweep of Cleveland.

ROYALS 5, TIGERS 1:

Robinson Tejeda (2-1) spaced three hits over six shutout innings to outpitch Justin Verlander (16-8), Billy Butler hit three doubles and host Kansas City beat Detroit for its first three-game winning streak since July.

ANGELS 6, MARINERS 3:

Kendry Morales hit an early three-run double, Jered Weaver (15-5) gave up two runs and seven hits over 6 1/3 innings, and Brian Fuentes earned his AL-leading 40th save as host Los Angeles beat Seattle.

WHITE SOX 4, ATHLETICS 3:

Alexei Ramirez singled with one out in the bottom of the 13th off Edgar Gonzalez (0-2) and A.J. Pierzynski followed with a double off the wall in left-center to lift Chicago over Oakland.