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In the old Yankee Stadium a couple of years ago, we'd all shrug and say the ghosts got to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - that it was the Babe and Lou and Mickey that caused Joe Saunders to lose the strike zone and Howie Kendrick and Scott Kazmir to make errors on consecutive bunts in the eighth inning.

Except, not many memories have been made in this new Yankee Stadium. Not yet. That it is a work in progress was shown when the impermeable Mariano Rivera leaked a run last night - his first at home in the post-season since October 22, 2000. But it wasn't enough for the Angels, who lost 5-2 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.

The Yankees put the game away with a pair of unearned runs in the eight, one of which scored when Kazmir, normally a starter, over-threw first base on a Melky Cabrera bunt.

The Yankees will open at the World Series in the Bronx on Wednesday against the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies, who have been idle since beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-4 on Oct. 21 in the fifth and final game of the NLCS.

A crowd of 50,173, the largest in the inaugural season at the new Yankee Stadium, saw Andy Pettitte strike out six, give up seven hits and walk one in 61/3 innings to become the winningest pitcher in post-season history. It was Pettitte's 16th career playoff win, one more than John Smoltz.

Pettitte, Jeter, Jorge Posada and Rivera are links to the Yankees last World Series championship in 2000. So was the player who threw out the ceremonial first pitch, Bernie Williams. They lost in two follow-up trips to the World Series including 2003, when the Yankees last won the ALCS only to be ambushed by the Florida Marlins in the World Series. Since then, the Yankees have had little to show for all the cash they've splashed around and that explains why there was considerable hand-wringing in this city all day after Game 6 was rained out on Saturday and manager Joe Girardi announced he was sticking with Pettitte instead of ace CC Sabathia, who was available on his regular rest.

Pettitte raised his record to 5-2 in 11 series-clinching games, moving ahead of Roger Clemens, Catfish Hunter and Dave Stewart for the most career clinching wins. It was his seventh league championship series win, second only to Stewart's eight wins.

Angels starter Saunders didn't make it out of the fifth inning. By that point, the Yankees had worked him for 83 pitches and five walks, including a bases-loaded pass issued to Alex Rodriguez that signalled the end of his night. Saunders walked in and yelled at home-plate umpire Dale Scott after the 3-1 pitch, which could very easily have been called a strike.

Given a 1-0 lead on a two-out single by Bobby Abreu in the third, Saunders laboured through a 30-pitch fifth that saw him give up a two-run single to Johnny Damon with the bases loaded.

It was the second time in the game Damon came up with the bases loaded and the fourth time this postseason. He was 0-3 in that situation until the at bat. Nick Swisher, batting .101 in the postseason, singled to move the inning along, advancing Robinson Cano to second before Cabrera moved them both into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt.

Saunders became the first pitcher in postseason history to allow 12 base runners without a strikeout in fewer than 42/3 innings.

Darren Oliver induced Jorge Posada to hit into an inning-ending double play and that put a noticeable spring in the Angels step as they came into the dugout down just 3-1. They put the leadoff man aboard in the fifth but Pettitte ended the inning by getting Erick Aybar to hit into a double play. Pettitte wriggled out of another jam in the sixth when, with runners on the corners and two out, he knocked down a Kendry Morales ball back up the box. Pettitte recovered in time to throw out Morales at first.

Rivera worked the last two innings, striking out pinch-hitter Gary Matthews Jr. to end the game.