Derek Jeter leads Yanks past Tigers; Pujols powers Cards in San Diego

It might not matter who the Yankees put on the mound this post season. With all the talk about Randy Johnson’s bulging disc and weak middle relief, the guys that swing the sticks for the Bronx Bombers did some talking of their own. Lead by Derek Jeter’s five hits, the stacked Yankee lineup jumped on a trio of Detroit Tigers pitchers for an 8-4 victory and a 1-0 lead in the best of five series.

Jeter had a homerun, two doubles and a pair of singles in the opening game against Detroit. Johnny Damon added two singles and scored twice in his playoff debut for the pinstripes. Bobby Abreu went 2 for 5 and drove in 4 runs as the Yankee right fielder.

The Yankees got a strong performance from 19-game winner Chien-Ming Wang who gave up 3 runs and left the game in the top of the seventh. The set-up men coming in from the bullpen struggled a bit before getting the ball to Mariano Rivera who shut the door.

In San Diego, the Cardinals came out swinging against their host. St. Louis plated 3 in the top of the fourth. Two of those runs came from an Albert Pujols homerun off Padres starter Jake Peavy. The Cardinals struggled to get into the playoffs but Chris Carpenter showed why he won 15 games this year and threw six strong innings and striking out seven as the Cardinals took game one 5-1.