NEW YORK (AP) ― 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 pop 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.”

Tigers starter Max Scherzer pitched no-hit ball into the sixth before Cano blooped an opposite-field single to left.

Miguel Cabrera’s two-run homer in the first off Freddy Garcia gave 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. (Monday) 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 Monday at Detroit. In a rematch, of sorts, CC Sabathia is scheduled to start against Verlander, a 24-game winner. The two All-Stars faced each other in the series opener Friday night, but the game was suspended after only 1½ innings because of rain.

The Yankees lost three of four this year at Detroit and are 22-25 at Comerica Park since it opened in 2000. It’s one of only two AL stadiums where New York has a losing record.

“The mentality here is everything is high, we feel good, and we just lost a tough one here today,” said Nick Swisher, who homered on Valverde’s first pitch.

Brewers beat D-backs

MILWAUKEE (AP) ― Jonathan Lucroy drove in the go-ahead run with a squeeze and the Milwaukee Brewers showed they could bunt as well as bash, breaking away from the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-4 Sunday to take a 2-0 lead in their NL division series.

Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer and fellow slugger Prince Fielder added an RBI single for Milwaukee. But the brawny Brewers also excel at the little things, especially Lucroy.

Lucroy’s safety squeeze keyed a five-run sixth inning, and came right after Diamondbacks reliever Brad Ziegler became angry about a balk call. That’s when rookie Milwaukee manager Ron Roenicke put on a play ― he’d already seen Lucroy successfully bunt a few times this season.

With the score 4-all and runners at the corners with one out, Jerry Hairston Jr. took a couple of half-steps and sprinted home as Lucroy bunted toward first base. Ziegler’s awkward flip went wide of catcher Miguel Montero and the Diamondbacks imploded from there, with Milwaukee taking a 9-4 lead.

Cardinals defeat Phillies

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ― John Jay knocked Carlos Ruiz backward with a hard forearm shiver, then the St. Louis Cardinals flipped this series around.

Albert Pujols hit a go-ahead single in the seventh inning after Cliff Lee blew a four-run lead, and the Cardinals rallied past the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 Sunday night to even their NL playoff matchup at one game each.

Down early, Jay jolted Philadelphia’s catcher on a bruising play at the plate. Jay was out, ending the fourth inning. The Phillies, however, couldn’t block the Cardinals’ path to victory.

The NLDS shifts to St. Louis for Game 3 on Tuesday. Cole Hamels will be the third straight All-Star pitcher to face the Cardinals, who’ll send Jaime Garcia to the mound.

The wild-card Cardinals, who got into the postseason only after the Phillies beat Atlanta in Game 162, got the split they were looking for on the road against the team that had the best record in the majors.