It's been a long wait, but the Yankees are finally coming home to break in their new digs. And they'll be doing it as winners, thanks to Derek Jeter.
Jeter doubled and scored in the eighth inning to draw the Yankees even at three, and then he singled home Cody Ransom in the ninth for a 4-3 lead. If you've seen a Yankee game in the last 15 years, you know what happened next, although it was especially fitting for the last actual 42 in the majors to save the game on a Jackie Robinson Day that saw every major leaguer wearing Mariano Rivera's number.
Jeter's pair of hits supported a second strong start from Andy Pettitte. He went seven-and-a-third innings before handing the ball over to Brian Bruney, who got two outs to keep the game tied in the eighth. Bruney has now retired 14 straight batters, 10 of them by strikeout. That probably won't do a thing to placate the remaining Joba bullpen believers, but they aren't the sanest group to deal with in the first place.
5-4 might not seem like much of a record after nine games, but the two wins over the Rays make it a lot more paletteable. As does winning each of the games with late rallies, establishing a bit of a psychic edge over Tampa's bullpen for the 15 games still to come this season.
A perfect appetizer for the main course, which kicks off in a little more than 16 hours.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City and is a contributor to FanHouse.com and ProFootballTalk.com in addition to his duties for NBCNewYork.com.
