LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Starter C.C. Sabathia maintained his superb run of form with a masterful display through eight innings to help the New York Yankees grind out a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday.
Slugger Alex Rodriguez also made a major contribution for the defending World Series champions, doubling and scoring in the second inning on an RBI single by Jorge Posada and blasting a game-winning solo home run in the sixth.
Sabathia (9-3) improved to 5-0 in the month of June after recovering from a shaky start when he walked lead-off hitter Rafael Furcal, who then stole second base before coming in to score on an RBI single by Manny Ramirez.
The Yankees starter then settled into his rhythm, allowing just one runner to advance past first base as he struck out seven against three walks.
"Fastball command was probably really erratic all night, but I was able to work through it," Sabathia told reporters.
"Just trying to put together solid innings, especially with the May I had, not winning a game. It just feels good to help the team win."
Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla was almost as efficient, allowing two runs on six hits over seven innings while striking out seven and walking one.
Clinging on to a one-run lead, Mariano Rivera struck out the heart of the Dodgers order in the ninth inning to register his 17th save of the season.
The interleague matchup between the two sides was the first since former Yankees manager Joe Torre took charge of the Dodgers in 2008.
"I still have flashbacks and I see some of the guys from time to time," Torre said. "I'm not going to pretend it's no big deal. I'm not going to pretend that there's not going to be emotion.
"(But) there is baseball to play and that has to certainly be center stage over my personal relationship with these guys."
(Reporting by Mike Mouat in Windsor, Ontario; Editing by John O'Brien)
