Yankee savior: Raul Ibanez hits two-run blast in ninth

NEW YORK -- Raul Ibanez, New York Yankees legend.

OK, that might be a bit of stretch, but Ibanez continued to show a flair for the dramatic in this postseason Saturday night.

The 40-year-old designated hitter capped a four-run rally in the ninth inning with a two-run home run as New York tied the Detroit Tigers 4-4 in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series at Yankee Stadium.

Ibanez hit his third pivotal home run of the postseason. He hit a tying homer in the ninth inning and a game-winning shot as the Yankees rallied to beat the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.

The Tigers took a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning behind Doug Fister's 6 1/3 scoreless innings and Delmon Young's two RBI, including a home run.

However, the Yankees struck for four runs against Tigers closer Jose Valverde in the ninth.

Russell Martin hit a leadoff single and took second base on defensive indifference. After Derek Jeter struck out, Ichiro Suzuki hit his first career postseason home run, a two-run shot down the right-field line that halved the Yankees' deficit.

Valverde came back to strike out Robinson Cano, who was 0-for-5 and is 2-for-27 in this postseason but then walked Mark Teixeira. Ibanez followed with his home run into the right-field stands that tied it at 4-4.