Red Sox7

Yankees6

BOSTON – It will return but the feeling of invincibility that surrounded the Yankees since Opening Day has vanished.

The moment Shea Hillenbrand’s two-run homer in the eighth inning nestled into the mesh above Fenway Park’s Green Monster yesterday, the Yankees were as vulnerable as any other baseball team.

And the reason was simple: Mariano Rivera gave it up.

“I never want to not be surprised when he gives up a home run,” Joe Torre said. “It’s more of a surprise to see him give up the home run than the [World Series] base hit to [Luis Gonzalez] because of the nature of the base hit. [Rivera] is going to come after you and there are times when somebody is going to beat him.”

Hillenbrand’s towering drive capped a four-run eighth and carried the Red Sox to a pulsating 7-6 win that sent most of the 33,756 patrons home happy.

However, it wasn’t the only reason the Yankees (7-5) dropped their fourth straight game. After getting four runs off Pedro Martinez in the first, they scored two in the sixth and nothing else. While they weren’t charged with an error they made five bad plays. And they wasted a solid effort from David Wells, who allowed four runs and seven hits in 71/3 innings.

“When you score four runs off that guy, you have to win,” Jason Giambi said of Martinez, who worked 51/3 innings, gave up five runs (four earned), hit Giambi twice, walked three and allowed three hits.

Jorge Posada’s bases-loaded triple and a throwing error by second baseman Rey Sanchez gave the Yankees a 4-0 lead in the first. The Red Sox took advantage of sloppy throws by Robin Ventura and Enrique Wilson in the fourth to score three runs. Run-producing singles by Wilson and Derek Jeter accounted for two runs in the sixth and a 6-3 lead.

However, the best was yet to come.

Wells pitched into the eighth. With one out, Johnny Damon lofted a fly ball to deep center that should have been the second out. But the ball hit a drifting Bernie Williams in the glove and fell out for what was liberally scored a double.

Torre called for Ramiro Mendoza and he hit Nomar Garciaparra with the first pitch and gave up a bloop RBI single to Manny Ramirez five pitches later. Knowing Rivera hadn’t pitched since Monday, Torre didn’t hesitate to bring him in.

“I am the closer, I have to be ready for anything,” Rivera said.

And when Tony Clark hit a grounder to Giambi, there was a chance for an inning-ending double play. But Giambi went to his knees to make sure he blocked the ball, and from there Giambi went to first for the sure out.

Five pitches later, the free-swinging Hillenbrand drove a 2-2 fastball into the net for his fourth homer.

“It was supposed to be more inside,” said Rivera, who absorbed his first blown save in five shots. “It didn’t run. He was ready for it.”

Hillenbrand was 0-for-4 with one strikeout against Rivera. Still, he felt confident.

“Last year I was 0-for-4 and had no chance,” the second-year third baseman said. “Today I felt unusually comfortable. It was almost like there was an aura over me and I am glad to be in that state of mind.”

Red Sox manager Grady Little wasn’t in a confident state of mind.

“It’s not a good feeling when you see [Rivera] starting to warm up in the pen, much less come in the game,” Little said.