NEW YORK -- It has been a homestand of milestones for the Yankees, who are bidding farewell to the storied Yankee Stadium by reaching a little history of their own.

First it was closer Mariano Rivera, who surpassed Lee Smith for sole possession of second place on baseball's all-time saves list. Derek Jeter passed Lou Gehrig for the most all-time hits at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, and it was then Alex Rodriguez's turn to make a statement.

A-Rod's eighth-inning home run was his 35th of the season, giving him 11 straight seasons of 35 or more homers and 12 in his career (1996, 1998-2008), tying Babe Ruth for the most such seasons all-time and passing Hank Aaron and Mike Schmidt. He called the accomplishment "very humbling."

"I've set some really high standards for myself, and 11 years in a row -- that says a lot more than the numbers," Rodriguez said. "It says that you stayed healthy and you've been very fortunate, and also that you've played with some tremendous teammates."

Rodriguez is the only player in Major League history to record at least 35 home runs, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in 12 seasons, consecutive or otherwise. Rodriguez also has hit 208 of his 553 career home runs as a Yankee, tying Jason Giambi once again for 10th place on the club's all-time list.

"He's a big offensive player, year in and year out," manager Joe Girardi said. "He keeps himself in unbelievable shape and he's able to drive the ball out of the ballpark the other way. Not a lot of guys can do that. What he's done over his career is amazing, and he's still got a long way to go."

Yet, like both Rivera and Jeter, Rodriguez would gladly swap his individual accomplishments to help the Yankees into the promised land of the postseason.

"You come in every season to attempt to win a World Series," Rodriguez said. "We have a lot of work to do here, but we have some good signs. We have some good young players stepping up. We need to finish strong."

Pitching matchup
NYY: RHP Mike Mussina (17-9, 3.63 ERA)
Mussina delivered a solid performance against the Rays until he fell into trouble in the fifth inning and could not escape a bases-loaded jam his last time out. He was tagged for five earned runs -- his highest total in a game since July 28, and his five innings marked his shortest outing since the same date. Mussina's pitch count built up to 100 before he exited the game. He will look to bounce back in his final start at Yankee Stadium. Mussina picked up the win in his only appearance against the White Sox this season. He held Chicago to just two runs on four hits through seven innings.

CWS: RHP Javier Vazquez (12-13, 4.13 ERA)
Vazquez will pitch on short rest in the finale of the Yankees series. He was brilliant in Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Tigers on Sunday. He threw 7 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, striking out eight and giving up just three hits. He faced the Yankees once this year in an outing he would much rather forget. The right-hander gave up six runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings to take the loss.

Tidbits
Jeter played in his 1,000th game at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, joining only four other Yankees. With only four games remaining, Jeter will finish behind Mickey Mantle (1,213), Lou Gehrig (1,080), Yogi Berra (1,068) and Bernie Williams (1,039) for career games played at Yankee Stadium. ... Jeter is bidding farewell to the ballpark in style, hitting .444 (32-for-72) over his past 18 games at Yankee Stadium since Aug. 1, with 11 multihit games. ... Phil Coke has not allowed a run in his first seven Major League appearances (10 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 SO). ... The Yankees will welcome 102-year-old Emilio "Millito" Navarro to Yankee Stadium on Thursday, the first Puerto Rican to play in the Negro Leagues and the oldest living professional baseball player. Navarro was selected by the Yankees in MLB's 2008 Special Negro League Draft on June 5.

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Up next
• Friday: Yankees (Carl Pavano, 3-1, 5.26) vs. Orioles (Garrett Olson, 9-8, 6.84), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Yankees (Alfredo Aceves, 1-0, 1.80) vs. Orioles (Radhames Liz, 6-5, 6.90), 1:05 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Yankees (Andy Pettitte, 13-14, 4.57) vs. Orioles (TBD), 8:05 p.m. ET