NEW YORK — Jose Valverde and the Detroit Tigers nearly let this one slip away.
Instead, they’re on solid footing with ace Justin Verlander set to start back home at Comerica Park.
The Tigers and their excitable closer somehow held off the Yankees’ furious, rain-soaked rally in the ninth inning, and Detroit beat New York 5-3 on Sunday, evening their best-of-five AL playoff series at one game apiece.
Down 5-1, the Yankees scored twice in the ninth and had a chance to win it after Detroit catcher Alex Avila lost his balance on the slick on-deck circle while chasing Curtis Granderson’s two-out foul popup.
“It’s tough to win games here, especially in the playoffs,” Avila said. “You get what you can and get ready for the next game, and that’s all you can think about.”
After his popup landed untouched, Granderson walked. With two on, Robinson Cano came to the plate.
Cano, who hit a grand slam and had six RBIs as the Yankees won the opener, wiped away raindrops from his helmet while Valverde tried to get a good grip.
With the crowd roaring, Cano hit a routine groundball to end it.
“All of a sudden, against anybody — but particularly against a team like them with the short porch in right field — it was not a good feeling,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “But it worked out OK.”
Miguel Cabrera’s two-run homer in the first off Freddy Garcia gave Tigers starter Max Scherzer an early edge, and the Tigers took a 4-0 lead into the eighth.
Granderson hit a solo homer off Tigers reliever Joaquin Benoit in the eighth. Pretty soon, the rain — and all the drama — filled Yankee Stadium.
“Today, we proved that we can compete. (Today) is going to be a different story,” Benoit said. “We go home, we’re going to play in our home ballpark, which is a little bit more fair.”
Game 3 is today in Detroit. In a rematch, of sorts, CC Sabathia is scheduled to start against Verlander.
Key moment
Jeter’s error leads to two runs
Not only did Yankees star shortstop Derek Jeter go 0-for-5 and strike out twice in key spots in the late innings, the Tigers cashed in on his throwing error in the sixth inning and chased New York starter Freddy Garcia with RBI singles by Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez that made it 4-0.
Star of the game
Tigers’ Mad Max a road warrior
Detroit right-hander Max Scherzer silenced Mark Teixeira (0-for-4), Alex Rodriguez (0-for-3) and the rest of a New York lineup that scored nine runs in the series opener. The right-hander was working on a no-hit bid until Robinson Cano blooped a single in the sixth. Scherzer worked six innings, allowing just two hits and no runs. He walked four and struck out five.
Series tied 1-1
Best of five
Saturday: New York 9, Detroit 3
Sunday: Detroit 5, New York 3
Today: New York (Sabathia 19-8) at Detroit (Verlander 24-5), 6:37 p.m.
Tuesday: New York (Burnett 11-11 or Hughes 5-5) at Detroit (Porcello 14-9), 6:37 p.m.
x-Thursday: Detroit at New York, 6:07 or 6:37 p.m.
x-if necessary
