NEW YORK – With the souvenir ball from his 400th save nestled gently in the pocket of his mitt, Mariano Rivera got a warm hug from a grateful Joe Torre and flashed his proudest smile.

The closer by which all closers will soon be judged, Rivera waved to a few fans and disappeared into the dugout, another victory safely secured for the New York Yankees.

And he had an important phone call coming – owner George Steinbrenner was on the line to offer congratulations.

“It’s amazing, amazing to even think about it,” Rivera said Sunday after escaping two jams and getting six outs to preserve New York’s 6-4 victory against the Chicago White Sox. “I’ve been blessed.”

Alex Rodriguez hit a two-run homer, and Derek Jeter connected for the first time in two months to give New York an early lead against Freddy Garcia (10-6).

Jaret Wright (6-5) got into the sixth inning and his bullpen held on, sending the Yankees to their first series sweep of the White Sox since May 2002.

Rivera became the fourth major league pitcher to reach 400 saves – and he had to work hard for this one.

“For a guy who has pitched as a closer for less than 10 years, and to have been as consistent as he has been, to get there as quickly as he did, it’s just remarkable,” Torre said. “I’ve been very fortunate. He’s been with me the whole time I’ve been here. I can’t tell you what that means.”

With a four-run lead suddenly down to two, Torre pulled setup man Kyle Farnsworth with two runners on and none out in the eighth. The sellout crowd of 54,781 burst into a huge ovation as Rivera entered.

After seven pitches, the Yankees were out of trouble in the eighth.

Rivera, who saved the All-Star game for the AL on Tuesday night and closed out Chicago on Friday, retired Juan Uribe on a popup before speedy Scott Podsednik grounded into an inning-ending double play.

“Every time I go out there, it’s business,” Rivera said. “I respect everyone, and I hope I get that respect back.”

Chicago’s first two batters reached safely in the ninth, but Rivera induced a double-play grounder from Paul Konerko and struck out Jermaine Dye to end it.

“For me, and I’ve said it, he has the single best pitch ever in the game,” Chicago’s Jim Thome said. “A lot of guys, you can make some adjustments. But not with that cutter.”

“On the field and off the field, Hall of Fame,” Chicago manager Ozzie Guillen said. “Young people should look up to him. He’s the perfect player.”

New York has won seven of eight since a 19-1 drubbing in Cleveland on July 4. The Yankees are a season-high 17 games above .500.

The World Series champion White Sox have dropped five of six to the Red Sox and Yankees during a stretch that spanned the break. Chicago’s stellar starting pitchers are struggling, and its All-Star sluggers failed to deliver in clutch situations all weekend.

“I think by far our three best games,” New York’s Jason Giambi said. “We’ve come together great as a team. We’re doing little things, we’re getting big hits when we need them, our starting pitching is really starting to come together.”