ANAHEIM, Calif.—The way Yankee reliever David Robertson gets out of jams—sometimes of his own making—his teammates have given him a rare nickname.

"David Robertson is Houdini out there. He gets out of more jams than anyone I've ever seen. If not for that, we might not win a lot of these games," said first baseman Mark Teixeira.

Nick Swisher celebrates after hitting a home run on Sunday. Associated Press

Time and again, he makes it work, as he did in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Robertson entered Sunday with a 1.21 ERA, and an astronomical 37 strikeouts in only 23 innings.

Robertson notched strikeout No. 38 in the sixth inning, coming on in relief of a struggling Bartolo Colon with the game in the balance. The Yankees had a 4-3 lead, and with a runner on second and one out, Robertson performed his daredevil routine to the delight of the many screaming Yankee fans in the crowd.

After inducing a ground ball for the second out, Robertson proceeded to walk the next two batters, Hank Conger and Peter Bourjos, to make it suddenly interesting. He said he couldn't help thinking about it—that this is the type of situation he always finds himself in, and he always manages to survive.

"I was sitting there thinking about it," Robertson said. "I just put the winning runs on base. I'm struggling, couldn't find the strike zone—I wasn't going to give in. I was going to give everything I could to get out of it."

With the bases loaded, Robertson fired a hard breaking ball at Maicer Izturis, who had no chance at the pitch.

"Just a big relief," Robertson said. "He puts the ball in play or gets a base hit there, two or three runs could score, and there goes the win for us."

It took 27 pitches, and some heart palpitations, but the Yankees preserved the lead and were en route to the win.

It's a skill of sorts, said manager Joe Girardi—the ability to stay calm in the moment, coupled with making some nasty pitches.

"I think he's able to relax," Girardi said. "His fastball, it gets on people quick. You see 92-93, but it plays more than that. You can tell yourself that as a hitter, but there's deception there, and that's what they're not picking up on."

The relief work gave Colon got his fourth win of the season, while Teixeira hit home runs Nos. 17 and 18.

Nick Swisher, who has just missed several home runs this weekend, added some insurance with a late-inning shot off the foul pole.

The Angels refused to go quietly, however, and Robertson wasn't the only Yankee reliever to walk the tightrope Sunday: Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera needed double plays to escape harrowing jams.

Still, afterward, the focus was all on Robertson, whose Houdini act has captivated teammates like Swisher.

"D-Rod's been doing it all year long," Swisher said. "That kid don't get nearly the credit he deserves. Boggles my mind."