The Yankees, led by Captain Derek Jeter, came out swinging and took the first game of the ALDS 8-4. Jeter continued his MVP season with a sick 5-5 performance, including a homerun to center in the 8th to give NY an important insurance run.

Overall the Yanks banged out 14 hits. Besides Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Jorge Posada, and Johnny Damon also had a multi-hit game.

Chien-Ming Wang held up into the 7th, and was replaced by a shaky Mike Myers, followed by a shakier Scott Proctor. Kyle Farnsworth came on for the 8th and immediately threw six straight balls. I wanted someone to run into the clubhouse and get Farnsworth's fancy new eyeglasses so he could see the plate. I was too nervous to watch, so I went outside to put my recyclables by the curb. I came back in to see him settle down and get out of the inning.


Mariano Rivera came on for the 9th, gave up his usual cheap flare hit, then locked up the win for Wang. He threw 12 pitches, 7 for strikes.
(Photo of Mariano pitching by my roving reporter, Karen Barletta.)