The Arizona Diamondbacks dethroned the New York Yankees to take baseball's World Series four games to three on Sunday night.

A desert rain fell briefly in Phoenix when rookie Alfonso Soriano hit a homer that looked likely to secure the Yankees' fourth straight championship, especially with the game's best closer, Mariano Rivera, coming on to protect the one-run lead.

But the rain stopped and the Diamondbacks showed their grit as 36-year-old Mark Grace got things started with his third hit of the game, the unflappable Rivera made a throwing error and tough little Tony Womack doubled in the tying run.

Then Luis Gonzalez capped a 57-homer season with a weak jam shot that barely made it out of the infield, but went just far enough, with the infield drawn in, to win the game.

It was pitching that stopped the Yankees, who posted a Series record-low batting average of .183, but it was the kind of baseball that their manager, Joe Torre, prefers. "There has been some classic stuff going on," he said.