The
Yankees started their postseason with all their parts moving in the
desired order. CC Sabathia got the job done on the mound, Alex
Rodriguez delievered a couple of clutch hits and the Yankees defeated
the Twins 7-2 Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Division Series at
Yankee Stadium.

Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui hit two-run homers, the biggest blows for
the Yankees, who are trying to win a postseason series for the first
time since 2004.

After a day off, this series resumes Friday with A.J. Burnett going for the Yankees against Minnesota’s Nick Blackburn.

The Twins, who won 17 of their last 21 games, including a 12-inning,
one-game playoff to take the AL Central away from the Tigers Tuesday
night, arrived in New York at 3 a.m. Wednesday. Forced to used his best
pitcher, 15-game winner Scott Baker, on Tuesday, Twins manager Ron
Gardenhire chose rookie lefthander Brian Duensing to start Game 1
against the Yankees, and he allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings.

The Twins took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on Michael Cuddyer’s RBI
single and a passed ball, one of two committed by Yankees catcher Jorge
Posada. But Sabathia, who came in with a 7.92 ERA in the postseason,
steadied himself and worked 6 2/3 strong innings, allowing eight hits
but walking none and allowing only those two runs, striking out eight.

By the time he left to a standing ovation, the Yankees had scored more
than enough runs for Sabathia and the bullpen. Jeter tied it with a
home run in the third, magically taking the heat off his close friend,
Posada.

In the fourth, Posada singled. Robinson Cano replaced him at first on a
force play, and scored from there on Nick Swisher’s double into the
left field corner, putting the Yankees ahead to stay. In the fifth,
Jeter walked and was on second when Rodriguez, hitless in his previous
19 at-bats with runners in scoring position in the postseason, singled
to left-center to score the run. Then Gardenhire brought in lefthander
Francisco Liriano, and Matsui hit a 2-and-1 pitch over the wall in
left-center to make it 6-2.

Sabathia hit a batter, gave up an infield hit and threw a wild pitch in
the seventh, and left with runners at second and third and two out.
Phil Hughes and Orlando Cabrera battled through a 10-pitch at-bat, but
Hughes prevailed with the strikeout — preventing Joe Mauer from coming
to bat as the tying run.

Jeter, who reached base all four times, walked in the seventh and
scored his third run on Rodriguez’s drive off the base of the wall in
right, making it 7-2.

Hughes, Phil Coke and Joba Chamberlain each got an out in the eighth,
then Joe Girardi, taking no chances in his first postseason game as
Yankees manager, turned the five-run lead over to Mariano Rivera in the
ninth.