Aybar helps Angels rally, tied with Yankees at 2 through 6 innings in ALCS Game 2

Yankees, Angels tied at 2 through 6 in ALCS Game 2

NEW YORK — Erick Aybar singled in a run, a suddenly shaky A.J. Burnett sent home another with his second wild pitch of the fifth and the Los Angeles Angels rallied for a 2-2 tie with the New York Yankees after six innings Saturday on another bitterly raw night in the AL championship series.

Coming off a 4-1 victory in Friday night’s opener, the Yankees were trying to take a two-game lead as the best-of-seven series heads to the warmth of southern California. Robinson Cano’s RBI triple in the second and Derek Jeter’s solo homer in the third had given New York a 2-0 lead.

Burnett, following up on CC Sabathia’s eight innings of four-hit ball, started 13 of his first 15 batters with strikes and allowed one hit through four innings before struggling in the fifth. He then retired the side in order in the sixth.

Angels starter Joe Saunders, who hadn’t pitched since Oct. 4, retired his first five batters before walking Nick Swisher on five pitches. Cano then reached out for an 0-2 pitch and drove it to right-center to score Swisher. Not that it made a difference for the suddenly sloppy Angels, who made three errors the previous night, but second baseman Maicer Izturis dropped the relay throw.

Jeter, 7 for 15 against Saunders coming in, hit an opposite-field homer a few rows into the right-field seats with one out in the third. With 19 postseason homers, Jeter moved past former Yankees Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson into sole possession of third place, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez (29) and former Yankees teammate Bernie Williams (22).

The Angels tied it in the fifth, with the top of the inning taking 23 minutes as Burnett threw 33 pitches.

Izturis doubled, just the second leadoff runner to reach for the Angels in the series. Aybar singled him home with one out and stole Los Angeles’ first base of the series, and Chone Figgins became Burnett’s second hit batter of the game. Bobby Abreu chased a high 3-1 fastball, fouled off three pitches and flied out to Johnny Damon in foul territory, just in front of the left-field wall.

Torii Hunter walked, with on ball four bouncing into the stands for a wild pitch. With Vladimir Guerrero at the plate, Burnett bounced a 1-2 wild pitch that scored Aybar with the tying run. Guerrero grounded out on the next offering.

New York stranded a runner at third for the second time in the fifth. After singles by Melky Cabrera and Jose Molina, Jeter hit a comebacker that Saunders turned into a 1-6-3 double play — although replays showed Jeter reached the bag ahead of the throw and first base ump Bill Miller blew the call. Saunders then fanned Damon.

Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira made two more excellent stretches for outs, on Aybar in the third and Hunter in the fourth.

After a scheduled travel day Monday, the series was set to resume Tuesday afternoon in Anaheim with Jered Weaver pitching for the Angels against Andy Pettitte. The Yankees appeared set to bring back Sabathia on three days’ rest for Game 4 the following day, but manager Joe Girardi wouldn’t commit.

“We’ll talk about it,” he said, “if we know we get through this game and what’s going to happen to our rotation. We have an off day to prepare what we’re going to do.”

Weaver won Game 2 of the first round against Boston, allowing one run and two hits in 7 1-3 innings. Pettitte got the victory in the clincher of the Yankees’ sweep of Minnesota, giving up one run and three hits in 6 1-3 innings.

However, there was a chance of a schedule change. Rain was forecast for later Saturday, and under a rules change adopted after last year’s storm-disrupted World Series in Philadelphia, no postseason game can be shortened. Instead, it would be suspended and then resumed the following day, or whenever the weather cleared.

It was 47 degrees at gametime, 2 degrees warmer than on Friday, but it was again blustery, with a 15 mph wind from the north-northeast and gusts up to 23 mph that made the ceremonial red-white-and-blue bunting flap.

Teixeira, Damon and Swisher again wore Elmer Fudd-style caps with ear flaps, and Cano had on a ski mask. Alex Rodriguez remained the only Yankees starter in short sleeves

Aybar went without the hood he wore in the opener, when he allowed a popup to drop between himself at shortstop and Figgins at third. Izturis, who didn’t start in the opener, wore a hood.

Saunders, like John Lackey the night before, was in short sleeves.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sat in the front row to the third-base side of the plate, and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani sat in the first row to the plate side of the Yankees’ dugout.

Jose Molina started at catcher for the Yankees in place of Jorge Posada, just as Molina did when Burnett started the second game of the division series against Minnesota.

Figgins struck out leading off the game, dropping to 0 for 17 in the postseason. He walked with two outs in the third but was stranded when Abreu flied out.