Andy Pettitte reached the 200 big-league wins milestone on Wednesday night and Mariano Rivera escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning as the New York Yankees beat Baltimore, 2-1.

After this win, combined with Boston's fourth straight loss, the Yankees climbed to within a game and a half of the Red Sox in the American League East.

"We're right there and I mean we want to win it," Pettitte said. "We would like to win this division but just thankful we're playing good."

Rivera was fully aware that the game against the Orioles was a very important one as Pettitte needed to win it in order to reach the historical milestone. After he had loaded the bases in the ninth inning, he closed the game without error, to give his team mate a small slice of history. Rivera took 34 pitches to end the ninth in a win, allowing a one-out bloop double to Nick Markakis and two walks with two outs.

Pettitte (14-8) gave a run on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. He is the 110th pitcher to win 200 games, joining team mates Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina in the history books, and the 27th left-handed pitcher in the history of the majors to reach the 200 milestone.

"I'm glad we were able to do that, and get a big win for Andy," said Rivera, who saved a Pettitte victory for the 49th time, after the win. "That's the guy that you want to give everything you've got to play behind him."

Rivera got his 30th save in 33 chances, reaching 30 saves for the fifth straight season and the 10th time in 11 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The Red Sox  had built a 14 ½ games advantage over the Yankees by May 29, but now are within Yankees’ reach after being swept in Toronto. When the scoreboard showed that Boston lost, the Yankee Stadium erupted with joy