Oct 4, 2006 9 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Derek Jeter and the rest of the modern-day Murderers’ Row overwhelmed the young Detroit Tigers, getting the New York Yankees off to a quick start in the first round of the AL playoffs. Jeter tied the postseason record for hits, going 5-for-5 with a home run to lead New York over Detroit 8-4 Tuesday night in its postseason opener.

Bobby Abreu had a two-run double and Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer in the third as New York’s big boppers staked Chien-Ming Wang to a 5-0 lead. The five-run burst started, however, with something small – Johnny Damon’s slow roller for a single.

After the Tigers crawled within two runs, Abreu added a two-run single in the sixth and Jeter hit his 17th postseason home run in the eighth.

Six of New York’s seven RBIs came from Abreu and Giambi, surprising given that Nate Robertson held lefties to a .181 average during the regular season, the best among AL pitchers. Giambi was on base four times, also getting hit by pitches twice and walking.

New York’s lineup, now that everyone’s healthy, poses a mighty challenge for opposing pitchers. All nine starters are current or former All-Stars. Robinson Cano became the first player to ever start a postseason game batting ninth after finishing among the top three in his league in batting, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Alex Rodriguez, the reigning AL MVP, was dropped to sixth in the order, his lowest slot since Seattle batted him eighth on May 7, 1996, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He was a quiet 1-for-4, extending his streak of postseason games without an RBI to nine and his playoff slump to 5-for-36 (.139) over his last 10 postseason games.

Wang, a 26-year-old right-hander who rose through the Yankees’ rotation to become their ace this year, didn’t have his best sinker but got the win by allowing three runs in 6 2-3 innings. Of the eight hits off him, five were doubles and one was a home run, a drive by Craig Monroe that started Detroit’s three-run fifth.

Curtis Granderson added a solo homer in the seventh off Mike Myers, who faced just one batter. Scott Proctor got Magglio Ordonez to pop out with runners at the corners, Kyle Farnsworth threw six straight balls starting the eighth but got out of it without a hit, and Mariano Rivera finished.

New York won its third straight postseason series opener. Mike Mussina (15-7) tries to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series when he starts on Wednesday night against Justin Verlander (17-9).

While the Yankees are in the postseason for the 12th straight year, Detroit played its first playoff game since the 1987 AL championship series. It marked the return to the postseason of manager Jim Leyland, who guided Florida to the 1997 World Series title and in his first season in Detroit turned around a Tigers team that had endured 12 consecutive losing seasons.

Before the usual gaggle of celebrities (Patrick Ewing), politicians (Mayor Michael Bloomberg) and billionaires (Donald Trump), Damon’s little hit started off the third.

In a 3-for-30 slide at the end of the season, Damon hit a bouncer between the mound and first. Robertson came off the mound quickly but failed to turn his glove for a backhand, and it rolled by for a single.

Jeter fell behind 0-2, then worked the count full and, with Damon running, lined the ball to left-center for a double. Abreu followed with a double to right-center for a 2-0 lead, extending his arm in excitement after he connected for his first postseason RBIs.

Leyland went out to the mound to speak with Robertson, but it didn’t stop the onslaught. Gary Sheffield lined a single to center on the next to make it 3-0 and Giambi reached down to muscle a 1-2 pitch over the right-field wall, his seventh postseason homer. Rodriguez singled, prompting Jason Grilli to start warming up, but Robertson recovered to retire the next three batters.

Detroit closed to 5-3 in the fifth, when Monroe homered to center leading off, and Placido Polanco and Sean Casey hit two-out RBI doubles. With Brian Bruney starting to get loose in the bullpen, Wang struck out Ordonez.

Abreu added a two-run single in the sixth, pulling the ball between first and second, just past a diving Polanco at second. Polanco was sidelined from mid-August until the last 10 days of the regular season by a separated left shoulder, rolled over the injured shoulder while trying to knock down the ball on the outfield grass.

Jeter homered to center in the eighth off Jamie Walker to cap off his big night.

Wang wiggled out of trouble after allowing leadoff doubles in the second and third innings. After Ordonez doubled leading off the second and Carlos Guillen walked, Ivan Rodriguez faked a bunt on the first pitch and Ordonez was caught stealing third on the next, a missed hit-and-run. Rodriguez struck out and Monroe grounded out.

Marcus Thames got a double in the second, with left fielder Hideki Matsui failed to charge a ball that bounced off the wall in foul territory, apparently thinking a fan had touched it. Granderson’s one-out single to right put runners at the corners – with Thames not testing Abreu’s arm – and Polanco bounced into a 6-4-3 double play, with Sheffield stretching like a first-base veteran for Robinson Cano’s relay.

Athletics 3, Twins 2

MINNEAPOLIS – Barry Zito, Frank Thomas and the Oakland Athletics proved it was possible to beat Johan Santana – even at the Metrodome.

Zito kept Minnesota off balance with his big curveball, Thomas hit two huge home runs and the Athletics defeated the Twins and their ace in the opener of their first-round AL playoff series.

“First blood, I think, means a lot – especially when you’re playing on the road,” Zito said.

Zito quieted the Twins and their fans at the noisy, quirky ballpark for eight innings. He gave up four hits, three walks and one run and struck out one.

Oakland emerged in excellent shape after beating Santana, who was 16-0 over a span of 23 regular-season starts in which the Twins won every time since Aug. 1, 2005.

Santana led the league in ERA, strikeouts and innings, and tied for the AL high in wins.

“Santana’s probably going to win another Cy Young,” A’s first baseman Nick Swisher said. “For us to overcome the noise and all that stuff and win against him is something special.”

Minnesota rookie Boof Bonser will start against Esteban Loaiza in Game 2 Wednesday afternoon. A season-ending elbow injury to All-Star Francisco Liriano and right-hander Brad Radke’s shaky shoulder have left the rotation looking a little thin.

This is a team that was a whopping 10½ games behind Detroit on Aug. 7, though, before overtaking the Tigers to win the AL Central division on the final day. Comebacks are nothing new for them.

“Same as we’ve been doing all year,” said first baseman Justin Morneau, who went 0-for-4. “Everybody’s going to say we’re done again, but we don’t believe that.”

Thomas went 3-for-4, homering in the ninth off Jesse Crain. The 38-year-old became the oldest player to have a multihomer game in postseason history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“It was a big day,” Thomas said. “I’m just happy to win this first game, because this is a tough place to win ballgames.”

Closer Huston Street gave one back after a leadoff triple by Michael Cuddyer was lost in the ceiling by right fielder Milton Bradley. Torii Hunter drove in Cuddyer with a groundout, but Rondell White – who doubled in the fifth and homered in the seventh – flied out to center to end the game.

“This team’s pretty resilient,” catcher Joe Mauer said, the major league batting leader who went 0-for-3 with a walk. “We’ve dealt with coming from behind before. We’re not going to quit until it’s done.”

The stadium was filled, of course, with 55,542 fans wiggling those white Homer Hankies and roaring every time Santana so much as made a move on the field in the minutes before the game.

But one out after Thomas homered in the second, Jay Payton singled and Marco Scutaro smacked a two-out double down the left-field line to give Oakland an early 2-0 edge.

Zito ran with it, no-hitting Minnesota through 4 2-3 innings and only twice letting a runner get past second base. The left-hander with the big leg kick and even bigger curveball consistently kept the Twins from hitting their sweet spots.

“Everybody’s aware of it, but Zito’s in the same category as Santana,” Street said.

Santana went eight innings and finished with a career playoff-best eight strikeouts.

“Everything was working out pretty good,” said Santana, who allowed five hits and walked one. “I was throwing my fastballs in the corners. Everything was fine. Unfortunately you make one mistake, and you pay for it. Today we weren’t able to come back.”

After his 16-year career with the Chicago White Sox ended badly, injured ankle, attitude and all, Thomas has enjoyed a resurgence in his first season with the A’s – racking up 39 homers and 114 RBIs.

He talked with the Twins, ironically, about joining them to serve as the designated hitter, but they were concerned about his health on the artificial turf and Thomas signed with Oakland instead for $500,000 plus incentives.

“All 30 teams could’ve had him,” A’s manager Ken Macha said.

Thomas is 8-for-19 with three homers and five RBIs in his career against Santana. The Big Hurt now has 50 homers and 132 RBIs in 171 career games against Minnesota, his most against any opponent and the second-most hit by one player against the Twins behind Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson (51).

“It seems like he always gets hot when he comes to play us,” Mauer said.

Zito and third baseman Eric Chavez are the only players who were a part of each of Oakland’s first-round losers from 2000 to 2003, teams that failed a total of nine times to win games with a chance to eliminate the opponent.

In fact, Ellis, the second baseman, is the only other guy left from 2002, when the A’s were beaten in five by the Twins. Zito won Game 3 that year at the Metrodome, Oakland’s most recent road playoff victory.

With Zito, a pending free agent, in likely his last month with the team, the time might be right for the A’s to finally break through.

“We’re here to win it,” Thomas said.