Yankees finish Angels to punch ticket to World Series

But in the end, it took two old hands to carry them back.

Andy Pettitte pitched effectively into the seventh inning and Mariano Rivera got the final six outs last night as the Yankees beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-2, to win the American League Championship Series in six games.

Game 1 of the World Series will be here Wednesday, with the Yankees pitching CC Sabathia, who was named MVP of the ALCS after winning two games, against Cliff Lee and the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies.

“We have four games left to win to complete this,’’ Sabathia said. “It’s not over.’’

Pettitte allowed one run on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings and struck out six. The win was Pettitte’s 16th in his postseason career, a major league record.

“He’s used to being on this stage, he’s used to being in big games,’’ said manager Joe Girardi, who took No. 27 when he became manager two years ago in recognition of the team being stuck on 26 championships since 2000. “He was great.’’

Pettitte is 5-2 with a 3.88 ERA in 10 starts when his team has had a chance to clinch a postseason series.

“This is why I signed back here, to get this team back to the World Series,’’ Pettitte said.

For Rivera, the save was his 37th in 84 postseason appearances. He allowed one run, raising his postseason ERA to 0.77.

The Yankees secured their 40th American League championship by scoring twice in the eighth inning, taking advantage of two errors on bunt plays, and a sacrifice by Mark Teixeira.

Rivera struck out pinch hitter Gary Matthews Jr. for the final out, softly pumped his fist, then walked slowly toward the plate to embrace his longtime catcher, Jorge Posada.

After the Yankees celebrated in the clubhouse, several players returned to the field and sprayed fans with champagne.

Johnny Damon was 2 for 4 with a walk and two RBIs for the Yankees and returned to the Series for the first since 2004, when he was with the Red Sox.

Derek Jeter, who will be playing in his seventh World Series, poured champagne on the head of team chairman Hal Steinbrenner, who is running the team in place of his ailing father, George.

“We’re trying to do this for him,’’ Hal Steinbrenner said.

Thanks to the extra days off built into the postseason schedule by Major League Baseball to accommodate its television partners, the teams were playing only their ninth game in 21 days since the end of the regular season.

The crowd of 50,173 at Yankee Stadium was eager for action and cheered loudly on every pitch as Pettitte retired the Angels in order in the first inning. The volume went up in the bottom of the second when the Yankees loaded the bases with two outs against Joe Saunders.

The batter was Damon, who came up in the same situation in the second inning of Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS while a member of the Red Sox and belted a grand slam to right field.

The crowd in New York groaned again, but this time because Damon grounded harmlessly to first base.

The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Jeff Mathis started the inning with a double and scored on a two-out single by ex-Yankee Bobby Abreu, who had been 3 for 22 in the series.

It was the fifth double in 14 postseason at-bats for Mathis. He had eight doubles in 237 at-bats during the regular season.

Saunders walked Robinson Cano and Jeter to help load the bases in the fourth inning. Damon came to the plate again and this time drove a two-run single into center field.

After Teixeira reached on an infield single to reload the bases, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate. Counting the postseason, Rodriguez was 8 for 18 against Saunders, but Angels manager Mike Scioscia left his starter in as righthander Kevin Jepsen hurried to warm up in the bullpen.

Saunders walked Rodriguez on a close 3-and-1 pitch to force in a run and put the Yankees up, 3-1. Saunders allowed three runs on seven hits and five walks over 3 1/3 innings.

“This is tough on our team to get this far and not reach our final goal,’’ said Scioscia, whose team allowed nine walks. “We had high expectations and we didn’t get it done.’’