The Yankees are trying to make a potential Monday make-up doubleheader a moot point. New York defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-4 on Tuesday, giving them a five-game lead in the loss column over the Cleveland Indians, who lost to the Kansas City Royals.

More importantly, the Yankees saw three of their regular contributors return to action on Tuesday, as Chuck Knoblauch (hyperextended wrist) and Jorge Posada (five-game suspension) were back in the lineup, and Mariano Rivera closed out the win after taking three days off following a cortisone shot.

"We're getting close to the postseason, so you'd like to run the regulars out there," said shortstop Derek Jeter. "We've been battling some injuries, so hopefully in the next few days, Paulie can get better."

Paulie, of course, is Paul O'Neill, who should get a couple of at-bats as the Yankees' designated hitter on Wednesday, according to Manager Joe Torre.

"Any time you've been out for a while, it's fun to get back in there," said O'Neill, who has sat out since Sept. 7 with a fractured left foot. "It's getting to that time, so if all goes well, we'll see what happens."

Ted Lilly, making perhaps his final push for a spot on the postseason roster, threw six innings of four-run ball, allowing six hits and three walks to improve his record to 5-6. Two leadoff walks in the first and third innings led to runs, but Torre was happy with Lilly's overall performance.

"Lilly was OK, he battled through better than he did earlier in the year," said Torre of his rookie starter. "The two leadoff walks cost him, but once he got through that he was fine."

"I'm happy with the way I threw the ball -- and we won. That's what it comes down to, finding a way to win," said Lilly, who struck out five. "Statistically it wasn't a great night, but I worked out of a small jam in the sixth, which was pretty important. It's so nice when we go out there, chip away and find a way to get one more run when we have to. That's what they guys did tonight."

The lead changed hands several times throughout the night. Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first, but Jeter answered with a two-run home run into the Yankees bullpen against Sox starter Dan Wright.

"I felt a little better today and yesterday with some at-bats," said Jeter, who went 3-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored, falling a triple shy of the cycle. "We scored a couple today and have been swinging the bats well the last few days. Hopefully that will continue."

The White Sox regained the lead in the third, using Ray Durham's RBI triple and Magglio Ordonez's RBI groundout to go ahead 3-2. But Posada, playing his first game in a week after serving his suspension, hit a solo home run in the fourth that landed in virtually the same spot as Jeter's, tying the game at three.

"I was hoping to do what I did today. I wasn't over-aggressive and was able to make things happen," said Posada. "I felt pretty good at the plate. I thought I was going to be a little slow, but I felt good and got some good pitches to hit. I have been working pretty hard so not to lose that edge, and it felt good."

Ordonez's RBI single gave the Sox the lead again in the fifth, but New York answered with two of its own in the bottom of the same inning against Wright (5-3), as Bernie Williams and Posada each drove in a run to put Lilly and the Yankees ahead 5-4.

"They've done this so many times for me this year, where they've come back after I've given up a run and they'll score two," Lilly said. "When the game is tied, I never feel like I'm out of the game with this club."

Jay Witasick and Mark Wohlers each threw a scoreless inning, and Alfonso Soriano added an insurance run with a sac fly in the eighth, leaving it to Rivera to slam the door on Chicago.

Rivera, who had a cortisone shot in his right ankle on Saturday to alleviate the pain he has pitched with for most of the season, was as dominating as ever. He used just 15 pitches -- 11 of them strikes -- to strike out the side, extending his team saves record to 48 for the season.

"I had no clue what to expect. I felt he would throw hard, but I had no idea how sharp he'd be," Torre said. "He was pretty sharp. He was much better than I expected him to be."

"The first hitter, I was tight and didn't put much pressure on it at all. For the other guys, I let it go and it felt great," Rivera said. "I was expecting some pain, but I was looking for something that wasn't there. It actually feels great. I was able to put some pressure on my ankle and pitch well."

A pair of Yankees reached personal milestones on Tuesday, as Williams set a new single-season mark with his 38th double of 2001, and Scott Brosius collected his 1,000th career hit in the fourth inning.

With O'Neill returning on Wednesday and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez scheduled to start for New York on Thursday, the Yankees are close to returning to full health just in time for the playoffs. They go for the three-game sweep of the White Sox on Wednesday, sending Mike Mussina to the mound to face Jon Garland.