NEW YORK — Alex Cora really doesn’t mind. Call him a utility infielder if you must.

But in his heart that’s not what he is. He’s more than just a bench player, and he produced like a regular yesterday, delivering a run with a groundout in the third and crunching a two-run homer in the fifth off Yankee ace Chien-Ming Wang that vaulted Boston to a 7-4 victory in the rubber game of the three-game series at Yankee Stadium.

He missed another homer by about a foot, settling for a triple off the top of the right-field fence in the seventh.

“I’ve always said I’m a starter,” said Cora matter-of-factly. “I’m not backing off that. I’m just in a different role on this team, that’s all. Me, (and other role players Eric) Hinske, Wily Mo (Pena) and Dougie (Mirabelli) all feel that way. That’s what keeps you going.”

Cora has been keeping the Red Sox going from the bottom of the order. Yesterday, he was in the lineup at second base instead of rookie Dustin Pedroia (.182). Cora has had a very good month in limited playing time, bashing two homers, two triples, knocking in seven runs and batting .360 (9-for-25) as well as playing smart defense and moving runners over with a pair of sacrifice bunts.

“AC does a good job when he plays. That’s why he’s here,” said manager Terry Francona.

Will he be replacing the struggling Pedroia on a more consistent basis in the near future?

"I’m not (making changes) five minutes after a game and with a day off (today),” said Francona.

Tavarez rights himself

There has been much talk that Jon Lester could replace Julian Tavarez in the starting rotation in the near future.

If that’s true, Tavarez isn’t going to give up the job without a fight. Tavarez bounced back from a poor start by limiting the Yanks to three runs in five-plus innings and earned credit for the win, improving to 1-2.

Back-to-back walks and a three-run homer by light-hitting Doug Mientkiewicz (.140) in the third inning accounted for the only runs he allowed.

“I was taking this as a very, very important start for me,” said Tavarez, whose earned-run average is 7.58 after five starts. “I took it like it was the last one of my life, like I’ve got to go out there and beat a good team like the Yankees. This makes me feel real good.”

Breaking out

For almost two weeks, Francona has been saying that Manny Ramirez was on the verge of breaking out of his season-long slump.

He kept pointing to some good swings that his left fielder had been taking, even if he was batting a mere .188 with only two homers and 11 RBI in his first 23 games.

Yesterday, Ramirez had good swings his first three times. He was only 1-for-3, but he also was robbed of extra bases on a good running catch by right fielder Bobby Abreu at the wall in right-center.

Those good swings accelerated into a more typical Manny swing and a more typical result in the eighth, when he crushed a 1-and-2 pitch from left-hander Sean Henn into the right-field seats for a two-run homer that expanded Boston’s advantage to 7-4.

The homer was his 50th against the Yankees, making him just the fifth player in big-league history to hit 50 against New York. The others were Jimmie Foxx (70), Ted Williams (62), Hank Greenberg (53) and Carl Yastrzemski (52).

skrasner@projo.com