Crooked Cap settled down after that, leaving the game in the 7th with a 7-2 lead and runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 out. Phil Hughes bailed him out of further trouble by striking out the dangerous Orlando Cabrera. Sabathia pitched 6.2 innings, allowing 2 runs, only 1 earned, while striking out 8 Twins. The Twinkies scored their 2nd run in the second inning when Posada missed a pitch and lackadaisically walked towards it, allowing an indecisive Joe Mauer to score from 3B.
The ol' veteran though, Jeter, demonstrated yet again why he's the beloved son of The Bronx. Jeter singled on the first pitch he saw in the first, homered in the 3rd and walked in his other 2 ABs. ARod finally exorcised some ghosts when he erased his hideous 0-29 with runners on base and 0-18 with RISP when he singled in Jeter in the 5th and again in the 7th. Hideki Matsui greeted Twin reliever, Francisco Liriano with a deep, wind blown HR to deep center in the 5th. Nick Swisher also contributed with an RBI double in the 4th that gave the Yanks a 3-2 lead.
With a comfortable 5-run lead in the 8th, manager Joe Girardi liberally went to his bullpen. Perhaps to spare Hughes from throwing too many pitches, he removed Hughes with 1 out. Phil Coke came in and threw 1 pitch to record the 2nd out, and Joba Chamberlain came in to throw 2 pitches to finish up the inning. Mariano Rivera came in the 9th for some work, and wrapped up the game after embarrassing himself by walking Nick Punto, proud owner of a .228 batting average. Someone please explain to me how Punto went 2-3 with a walk, please?
Game 2 will be on Friday, with some controversy attached. It wouldn't be the Yankees if there wasn't any controversy attached. The light-hitting Jose Molina will catch AJ Burnett instead of Yankee icon, Jorge Posada. Burnett's numbers are far more superior with Molina behind the dish. Granted, Posada is a far better hitter than Molina, but he didn't look good catching Sabathia, twice getting mixed up and then throwing the Crooked One under the bus in the post game interviews. Whether or not he was calling for a fastball, the 2 pitches he absolutely missed were catchable, almost down the middle breaking balls that need to be caught. And Posada continued his boneheaded play that I've seen all season when he half walked, half trotted towards the second pitch he missed, allowing Mauer to score.
The Yanks will face off against Nick Blackburn, and looking to go up 2-0. Angels and Red Sox will play Game 1 tonight in their series. Angels don't stand a chance - they fold like a cheap tent when they see the Sox.
Yankees Postseason Record: 1-0
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