BALTIMORE — For the second consecutive night, Baltimore Orioles fans streamed into Camden Yards wearing their orange, twirling their “BUCKle Up” towels and surviving a first-pitch rain delay in hopes their Orioles could beat the bullies of the American League East.

It wasn’t easy; they had to overcome fielding and base-running errors, a solid performance by Oriole-killer Andy Pettitte and a wild play at the plate in the first inning.

But, if nothing else, these surprising Orioles have shown resilience all season. And they did it again Monday, rebounding from a ninth inning implosion the night before to slip past the New York Yankees, 3-2, to even up the American League Division Series at 1-1.

It was the Orioles’ first home playoff win since Oct. 8, 1997, Game 1 of the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Indians.

Now the Orioles head to Yankee Stadium needing to win two of three to advance to the ALCS for the first time in 15 years. It will be the club’s second playoff series in New York. The first was the infamous 1996 ALCS in which 12-year-old Yankee fan Jeffrey Maier interfered with a potential fly out that turned into a decisive Derek Jeter homer in Game 1. Pettitte started that game, too.

Playing Monday in front of a frenzied announced crowd of 48,817 – the largest of the season, eclipsing Sunday’s attendance – the Orioles had to wait out a 40-minute rain delay before the first pitch. Then they had to figure out a way to beat the division-winning Yankees, who had won seven of 10 at Camden Yards this year.

They did it with clutch hits – a two-run single by Chris Davis in the third and a RBI single by Mark Reynolds in the sixth – and more strong pitching, led by starter Wei-Yin Chen and relievers Darren O’Day and Brian Matusz. The bullpen pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings and Jim Johnson, who was touched up in the ninth Sunday, picked up his first post-season save.

The Orioles improved to 76-0 this year when leading after the end of the seventh inning, and they’re now 30-9 in one-run games.

The Orioles didn’t exactly have an advantage on paper in the pitching matchup, sending Chen, the 27-year-old Taiwanese rookie, to the mound. Chen, who hadn’t won since Aug. 19, had pitched in 10 post-season games in Japan (2-5, 3.39 ERA), but never in the United States. He also had a 5.25 ERA against the Yankees in four starts this season.

Meanwhile, the Yankees countered with 40-year-old Pettitte, baseball’s all-time leader in post-season starts (43), wins (19) and innings (300). Throw in the fact that Pettitte entered Monday with 27 career wins versus the Orioles – the second most, behind only Yankees’ Hall of Famer Whitey Ford’s 30 – and Monday’s matchup looked like it could be a mismatch.

It wasn’t.

Chen allowed just two runs (one earned) in 6 2/3 innings while throwing a career high 112 pitches. Much better on extra rest, Chen hadn’t started since last Monday. And the needed layoff showed. He now has a 2.10 ERA in five outings this season in which he has six or more days in between starts.

The first half of the first inning for Chen and the Orioles, though, couldn’t have been crazier.

Jeter led off with a single and Ichiro Suzuki followed with a bouncer that first baseman Mark Reynolds attempted to barehand in front of waiting second baseman Robert Andino. Reynolds muffed the play, and Suzuki reached first on the error.

Alex Rodriguez followed with a sharp liner that Andino dove for and caught just before it hit the ground. He flipped to J.J. Hardy for an impressive double play.

With two outs Robinson Cano ripped a double into the corner that Davis fielded. He threw to Andino who rifled a relay throw home to Wieters, which arrived before Suzuki reached the plate.

And that’s where things got really interesting. Suzuki shifted momentum and danced around Wieters’ tag. He then dashed into the dirt circle – as deep as where the umpire stands for a pitch – and dove from the left side batter’s box, again avoiding Wieters tag before slapping home plate.

Home plate ump Angel Hernandez called Suzuki safe, which brought out Orioles manager Buck Showalter in protest. MLB Rule 7.08 states that a runner must stay within 3 feet of the basepath, which is established when the tag attempt occurs.

Suzuki was beyond 3 feet as he scampered back to the plate, but oftentimes that rule isn’t called in a mad dash at home.

It was the first run of the game, but the Yankees couldn’t hold onto the lead. The Orioles scored twice on Davis’ third-inning hit and could have had more, but Hardy made a rare base-running blunder with an assist from Rodriguez.

With Davis on first and Hardy at second, Adam Jones hit a soft grounder that slipped under Jeter’s glove and rolled into shallow left field. Hardy would have scored easily, but he stopped at third – despite third base coach DeMarlo Hale windmilling him home – because Rodriguez stood at third and faked a catch. The deke by Rodriguez worked perfectly and a Wieters’ groundout ended the inning, stranding Hardy at third base.

The Yankees closed within one on an RBI single by Jeter in the seventh against Chen to keep the chilly night tense.

Much of the credit for that goes to Pettitte, who came out of retirement this season. He was superb Monday, pitching into the eighth and allowing just three runs on seven hits and a walk in seven-plus innings.

It wasn’t enough to stop the Orioles from sending their fans home with a home playoff win for the first time in 15 years.