Marco Scutaro stunned New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera with a three-run homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning to help the Oakland Athletics upset the visiting Yankees 5-4 on Sunday.

Scutaro smashed an 0-2 pitch off Rivera over the left field fence as the Athletics won the tightly contested series 2-1. All three games were decided by one run.

"Being against Mariano, it was very special," Scutaro told reporters.

Rivera, one of the best closers in baseball, was ready to retire Scutaro with one of his fastballs, but he left the pitch over the plate and Scutaro drilled it.

"I just went up to make good contact," Scutaro said. "I just wanted to go up and take three swings and see what happens."

What happened was his ninth game-winning hit in four years.

"I can't believe it, still," Scutaro added. "I was just praying that it didn't go foul. I knew I wasn't going to get another pitch like that."

With the Yankees leading 4-2, Rivera retired the first two batters he faced in the ninth. Then Todd Walker singled to left and Jason Kendall walked with the count full to set the stage for Scutaro.

"It just shows you that even the best (Rivera) can give it up," Athletics manager Bob Geren told reporters. "Two outs against Rivera doesn't always look real good."

Andy Pettitte had held the Athletics to two runs over seven innings with Scott Proctor pitching a scoreless eighth before Rivera took over in the ninth.

After Oakland opened with two runs in the first, the Yankees used a three-run seventh inning to take a 3-2 lead.

Jorge Posada doubled in their first run, then Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera delivered sacrifice flies to push the Yankees out front.

Alex Rodriguez, who had scored off Posada's double, made it 4-2 with another sacrifice fly, this one to center field in the eighth inning.

*The Cleveland Indians got only one hit, Grady Sizemore's first-inning double, but took advantage of three Chicago White Sox errors to secure a 2-1 home win.

C.C. Sabathia won his third straight game, striking out 10 and walking three to hold the White Sox to five hits and one run over eight innings.

*Jose Vidro homered twice and Ichiro Suzuki had four hits, including a home run, as the Seattle Mariners pounded the Texas Rangers in a 14-6 home win.

*John McDonald put Toronto ahead to stay with a seventh-inning single and Josh Towers pitched a three-hit ball for more than seven innings as the Blue Jays beat the visiting Detroit Tigers 2-1.

*Dioner Navarro's ninth-inning double broke a 4-4 tie to give the Tampa Bay Devil Rays a 6-4 road win over the Minnesota Twins.

(Writing by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina)