» Yanks Win Opener!! Yankees Blog

April 03, 2007

YANKEES 9
DEVIL RAYS 5

In the 2007 Season, Yankee opener at Yankee Stadium, the Yanks defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9-5. Carl Pavano made the opening day start on the mound for the pinstripes, throwing 4.1 Innings, giving up 6 Hits and 4 earned runs.

The bombers were lead at the plate by Jason Giambi who went 2-5 and drove in 3 runs, Jorge Posada who went 2-4 (with HR), Alex Rodriguez who went 2-5 (with HR), and Derek Jeter who came through with a 2RBI basehit to tie the game in the 6th inning.

Tampa Bay took the lead 5-3 in the 5th inning, which was a shaky inning for Pavano. However, the Yanks came back in the 6th to tie the game at 5-5 ..and then took the lead for good in the 7th on a Giambi single.

Mariano Rivera pitched a shut down 1-2-3 ninth inning for the Yankees to close the game out, and L. Vizcaino was credited with the win (1-0).

Aside from the baseball game, there were also a few emotional moments to remember at the Stadium. After a touching video tribute to Lidle, Giambi escorted the pitcher’s wife, Melanie, and 6-year-old son, Christopher, toward the mound before they threw out first pitches. Lidle and Giambi were old friends and high school teammates. The 34-year-old right-hander was killed in a plane crash Oct. 11 in New York after finishing last season with the Yankees. His locker at Yankee Stadium will remain unoccupied all season, and the team is wearing black armbands on their jerseys in memory of him.

The Yankees broadcast booth also got a special visit during the game by Bobby Murcer. Murcer, a longtime Yankees player and broadcaster who is fighting brain cancer, returned to the ballpark and received a huge ovation. In addition, the team held a moment of silence for former star Hank Bauer and baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn, both of whom died recently.

My post game thoughts and asessments:
Carl Pavano: Pitched “OK”… not too impressive, yet not too bad. Two good things came out of this start: 1)The Yanks won. 2)He actually came off the field un-injured!!
Jason Giambi: Looked good at the plate..drove in 3 runs
Derek Jeter: Came through with the big hit when needed.
Bullpen: Gets an A+ overall! All relievers were very effective and efficient!!