Mariano Rivera Highlights

• 7/7/10, "Mo wins Pepsi Clutch honor for June," MLB.com, Britton

"For the first time in his career, the Yankees closer has been honored as the June 2010 Major League Baseball Clutch Performer of the Month presented by Pepsi....Rivera made 11 appearances in the month, earning two wins and picking up seven saves while not allowing a run in 13 innings. He surrendered a mere four hits while striking out 16 batters.

• Rivera also recorded a career-best streak of 24 consecutive hitters retired from June 3-23.

Rivera's outstanding performance in June earned him 37 percent of the 32,000-plus votes cast online at MLB.com. That was good enough to beat out fellow nominees Brennan Boesch (24 percent), Josh Hamilton (18 percent), Troy Glaus (14 percent), Adrian Gonzalez (five percent) and Josh Johnson (two percent)....

• That game in Los Angeles was the second time in the span of a week that Rivera went two innings to help preserve a Yankees' come-from-behind victory. He did it four days earlier in Arizona, as well....

This is the fourth year for the Clutch Performer award and the first time Rivera has won the monthly honor. He was a finalist for the Clutch Performer of the Year Award last season, but was edged by Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier.

• Rivera is the eighth Yankee to win the Major League Baseball Clutch Performer of the Month Award since its inception in 2007. Two of his current teammates, Rodriguez and Pettitte, were honored in 2007. Former Yankees Chien-Ming Wang, Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Melky Cabrera and Hideki Matsui each won the award at some point from 2008-09....

Rivera has a long-established reputation as a clutch performer not only for what he does at the end of games but also at the end of seasons. Rivera owns postseason records with 39 saves and a mind-boggling 0.74 ERA in 88 career playoff appearances.

Among pitchers who have tossed more than 100 postseason innings,

• only Christy Mathewson approaches Rivera's microscopic postseason ERA. Rivera's 0.772 WHIP in the playoffs is second only to Monte Pearson, who tossed nearly 100 fewer innings in the postseason....

At the conclusion of the 2010 regular season, fans will have the opportunity to vote on the Major League Baseball Clutch Performer of the Year presented by Pepsi from

• among six finalists selected by a special MLB.com editorial panel."