"Nick Swisher thought a fan had run on the field.

It was the only reason he could think of for why the Yankee Stadium crowd was cheering his inning-ending double play in the eighth.

"It took me a second to put it together," Swisher said. "I thought, 'What is going on here?' But then I looked out to the bullpen and figured out what was happening."

Swisher's ground ball meant Mariano Rivera had a chance to break Trevor Hoffman's save record, and just minutes after the double play Rivera had No. 602 following a perfect ninth in the Yankees' 6-4 win over the Twins.

"It was the greatest double play of my life," Swisher said.

And other than the fact that it put Rivera ahead of Hoffman, yesterday's save looked much like most of the previous 601.

He didn't face the most fearsome trio of hitters, with injury-ravaged Minnesota left with Trevor Plouffe, Michael Cuddyer and Chris Parmelee to go against him.

No one has seen Rivera close more games than Derek Jeter, and yesterday's was a scene he's grown accustomed to.

"In situations like that, the game's over," Jeter said of his mindset when Rivera enters a game. "It's not always the case, but that's how we feel.""