Rivera shaky again, Angels beat Yankees in 9th

“That’s going to happen. Unfortunately, it happened tonight,’’ Rivera said. “It was a great game and we had a chance to hold it there, and I did not do it.’’

Rivera said there were no similarities in the two shaky performances. Instead, it came down to one pitch — his signature pitch.

“Yeah, it was a cutter that didn’t dive down. He was able to put pretty good wood on the ball,’’ Rivera said.

Abreu’s drive was only the second homer allowed this season by Rivera (1-2). It was the first home run off Rivera at Yankee Stadium since Minnesota’s Jason Kubel hit a grand slam on May 16, 2010.

Rivera had given up just one earned run at home this year. The Angels, though, have caused him more problems than other clubs in the past. His career 3.60 ERA against the Angels is his highest against any opponent.

“I asked about the pitch that Bobby hit, and he said it just didn’t cut, for whatever reason,’’ Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

How often does a Rivera cutter not cut?

“Very, very seldom. You don’t see it very often, and he happened to throw one tonight,’’ Girardi said.

Abreu connected for his first multihomer game this season and 16th of his career. Once a star for the Yankees, Abreu sat in a golf cart outside the Angels’ clubhouse and chatted with some of his former teammates before the game while rain washed away batting practice.

“It’s unbelievable,’’ Abreu said. “You never expect as a hitter you’re going to hit a homer against Mariano.’’

The Angels, the only American League team with a winning record against the Yankees over the last decade, saddled New York with its first three-game losing streak since early June.

The Yankees tried to come back in the bottom of the ninth, putting runners at the corners with Mark Teixeira up and two outs.

Rookie reliever Jordan Walden bluffed the fake-to-third, throw-to-first pickoff play a couple times. The only thing that did was draw boos from the crowd.

Walden decided to try it once more. He stepped to third as if to make a throw, whirled toward first and — surprise! — Curtis Granderson was trying to steal second and was caught in no-man’s-land.

For Walden, it was easy pickin’s.