NEW YORK -- Alex Rodriguezs record-breaking grand slam was a big one for the Yankees, who can only hope it came in time for a last-gasp run at the playoffs. Seahawks #97 Jersey . Rodriguez set a major league mark with his 24th career slam, passing Lou Gehrig with a tiebreaking shot in the seventh inning that sent New York to a 5-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. "It means Im getting old," said Rodriguez, 38. "Its hard to think about things like that right now. Were really on a sprint to the end here and every win is huge for us." A-Rods drive helped CC Sabathia (14-13) beat Tim Lincecum in a matchup of former Cy Young Award winners having subpar seasons. More importantly for the Yankees, it carried them to their second win in seven games as they cling to faint playoff hopes. New York, which has eight games remaining, pulled within three of the second AL wild card -- with three other teams in between. The Indians 2-1 rain-shortened win over Houston, moved them a half-game ahead of Texas, which began the day tied with Tampa Bay atop the standings but lost 2-1 to Kansas City. The Rays beat Baltimore in 18 innings to keep the lead. "Its an unbelievable accomplishment and its a big one for us," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I dont know if we can afford to lose any more games." Alfonso Soriano also homered and New York opened its final homestand with a much-needed victory, hours after pitcher Andy Pettitte announced his plans to retire -- again -- following this season. The news about Pettitte hardly came as a surprise, but the 41-year-old lefty put to rest any speculation he might be back next season. Pettitte, who stepped off the mound for a year before returning in 2012, is scheduled to start the series finale Sunday -- the same day the Yankees will honour retiring closer Mariano Rivera in a pregame ceremony. Rookie outfielder Juan Perez, back home in the Bronx, hit an RBI double for the Giants. The defending World Series champions have spent all week in New York -- they took two of three from the Mets at Citi Field, where a large throng of vocal San Francisco fans made them feel right at home. Giants rooters came out in the Bronx, too, easy to spot in their orange or black jerseys. An audible chant of "Lets go Giants!" quickly drew boos from Yankees fans in the crowd of 41,734. "Theres a lot of Giants fans here. I noticed that. They travel well," Rodriguez said. With the score tied at 1, Eduardo Nunez grounded a single through the right side to start the seventh. Lincecum (10-14) hit Brendan Ryan with a pitch and walked Ichiro Suzuki with two outs, loading the bases and ending the right-handers night. Rodriguez, hampered by a sore leg lately, reached out and lofted a 2-1 pitch from George Kontos toward the hitter-friendly dimensions in right field for his 654th career homer and seventh this season. "Just tough to watch and tough to put somebody in that kind of situation," Lincecum said. "Just wasted a lot of pitches that inning, didnt attack the zone as much as the previous six, and I felt like I couldve gotten out of that better than what happened." The hit snapped a 1-for-25 slide for A-Rod, who returned Aug. 5 from hip surgery. It was his 14th slam for the Yankees, moving him ahead of Joe DiMaggio for second place on the franchise list behind Gehrig. "Im a huge fan of Lou Gehrig, everything hes done, going back to his college days in New York," Rodriguez said. "Hes kind of the gold standard for a Yankee. Special moment. Ill think about it someday." Sabathia was pulled after a leadoff single in the eighth and walked off to a warm ovation. David Robertson got Perez to ground into a double play, and Rivera worked a perfect ninth. But it was Rodriguez who delivered the big blow. "Unbelievable -- especially at that moment. He came up big for us again," Sabathia said. "Hopefully we can just keep getting big hits like that and keep winning games." Lincecum, who had won four straight decisions, was looking for his first five-game winning streak since early in the 2010 season. He was charged with four runs and five hits in 6 2-3 innings. He threw 66 of 121 pitches for strikes. "He pitched great," manager Bruce Bochy said. "Its some tough luck there in that last inning." NOTES: Giants CF Angel Pagan was rested in favour of Perez. ... DH Buster Posey singled in the sixth to end a 1-for-23 skid on the road trip. ... Rodriguezs previous slam came in Atlanta on June 12 last year. ... Looking to spark his struggling lineup, Girardi moved a slumping Suzuki into the leadoff spot, partly because he had faced Lincecum several times in the past few years. ... LHP Boone Logan (elbow) was available, Girardi said. ... After the Yankees got in late following Thursday nights loss at Toronto, C Chris Stewart was rested in favour of rookie J.R. Murphy. "Physically, I just think its too hard," Girardi said. Seahawks #93 Jersey .S. Presidents Cup captain Fred Couples for this falls team competition at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Bobby Wagner Seahawks Jersey . The Canadiens hope to even the series Sunday when they visit the New York Rangers for Game 4 at Madison Square Garden.CANMORE, Alta. -- Canadians Heidi Widmer and Jesse ****ney won the womens and mens cross-country ski races at the Buff Sprints on Saturday, bringing them a step closer to the 2014 Winter Olympics. The Buff Sprints are serving as selection races to determine the final four spots on Canadas 2014 Olympic cross-country skiing team. The 22-year-old Widmer, from Banff, Alta., completed an emotional day by handily winning the womens sprint race. "I have raced these trails and trained on them so many times, but this just feels so surreal," said Widmer, who broke into tears at the finish line. "I was on a mission for this. I didnt want to be one of those Olympiczillas getting caught up in it all. There are so many ups and downs. I just wanted to stay focused on the process and not look back or ahead of myself. "This is a dream come true, but I have only completed part one. Now the real journey and work begins." Three-time Olympic biathlete Zina Kocher of Red Deer, Alta., made a charge to get her name in the mix to also compete on the Canadian cross-country ski team at the Games. Kocher finished second. Andrea Dupont, of Timmins, Ont., placed third. While being interviewed in the finish corral, Heidi Widmer broke into tears when her older brother Phil walked past to hit the start line to secure an Olympic spot of his own. Cliff Avril Seahawks Jersey. "My inspiration is right there," said Heidi Widmer. "I just wish I can channel some of this energy his way. He has been there for me the whole way." The 30-year-old Widmer, who was fighting for a return trip to the Games, was in a tight competition with 24-year-old ****ney, who was looking for his first trip to the Olympics. Phil Widmer took the lead early and held it around the hilly 1.7-kilometre track, which simulates the challenge athletes will face at the Nordic venue in Sochi, Russia at the Olympics. ****ney, from Canmore, Alta., tucked in behind Widmer until the final 100 metres when he sprinted to the front of the pack to win the final race of the trials. "I just kept telling myself to get to the line," said ****ney. "Phil has been so strong, and I took that outside lane for the finish. I didnt know what else to do, but I just wanted to get to the line. It has been years of hard work. I dont know if it is official. I did all that I can do and I just want to enjoy this moment." Widmer sprinted to the silver, while Patrick Stewart-Jones, of Chelsea, Que., was third. ' ' '
