(Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
The stadium was jam packed during the post season opener and first playoff game ever at the new Yankee Stadium on Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins.
Yankee fans were loud from the get go, but were quickly silenced by a couple of wild pitches and a 2-0 Twins lead.
However, everything changed in a blink of an eye or a moments breath in the bottom of the third inning. After Nick Swisher lined out, Melky Cabrera hit a base hit to left with one out.
As the familiar voice recording of legendary stadium announcer Bob Sheppard played over the loud speakers at the stadium announcing that the number two shortstop was coming up to bat, the crowd sprung up and a feeling that something was about to happen was imminent.
Derek Jeter, already one-for-one on the night, crushed a ball into the left field seats, it was gone on contact, just if it stayed fair or foul was the only question. It was fair and the Yankees tied it up.
They never looked back.
A Nick Swisher RBI double in the fourth, and an Alex Rodriguez RBI single in the fifth, the Yankees pulled ahead. Hideki Matsui crushed a ball to center later in the fifth, that just went over the center field wall to score Rodriguez made it a four run game.
Rodriguez tacked on an RBI single in the seventh to put the Yankees lead nearly unreachable by the Twins.
CC Sabathia ended up with the win, going six and two-thirds, only giving up one earned run and striking out eight on 113 pitches.
So, with one playoff game in the books for the Yankees, Sabathia and Rodriguez have already got a playoff monkey off their back.
The Yankees now have just ten more wins until they realize their ultimate goal, their 27th World Championship.
The road to the pennant has just begun, but wow, what a start.
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