Giambi powers Yankees to emotional opening day win
New York Yankees' Jason Giambi singles to center field to drive in two runs in the Yankees season-opening 9-5 baseball victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Yankee Stadium in New York on Monday. AP |
Tied at 5-5 in the seventh inning, the Yankees's designated hitter connected for an RBI single to right field to score Alex Rodriguez as New York moved ahead for good.
Rodriguez then put the game away with a two-run homer in the eighth inning after Bobby Abreu had singled in Doug Mientkiewicz.
"We didn't start real good," Rodriguez, who made a first-inning error, told reporters, "But we finished strong."
Luis Vizcaino got the win in relief after starter Carl Pavano gave up six hits and five runs in four and one-third innings.
Tampa Bay chased Pavano with four runs in the fifth inning to open a 5-3 lead.
Derek Jeter tied the score with two-run single in the sixth and the Yankees pulled away with six runs over their final three innings.
Giambi got New York its first two runs with a first-inning single that scored Johnny Damon and Abreu.
He earlier had participated in an emotional pre-game ceremony that honoured the late Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, who was killed when his small plane crashed into a New York building in October.
"That was probably one of the toughest things I've ever had to do in my life, trying to be strong for Melanie," Giambi told reporters after standing behind Lidle's widow and son while they threw out opening pitches.
Giambi, Rodriguez, Abreu and Jorge Posada all had two hits in the 12-hit Yankees attack.
Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton sparked Tampa Bay with two-for-four outings.
Upton scored on Crawford's single to tie the contest at 3-3 in the fifth inning. Rocco Baldelli and Delmon Young added RBI singles to complete the four-run assault.
The Detroit Tigers raised their 2006 American League championship pennant, but could not hold off the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, losing 5-3 on Troy Glaus's bases-loaded single in the 10th inning.
Renteria powers Braves
Atlanta shortstop Edgar Renteria delivered a 10th inning home run to power the Braves to a 5-3 win at Philadelphia on Monday.
After twice failing to bunt, Renteria lined a 2-2 fastball to the right-field seats, drawing groans from the home crowd as he and Kelly Johnson scored to break a 3-3 tie.
Renteria also hit a game-tying solo homer in the eighth.
"Sometimes you put the ball in play and it goes out," Renteria told reporters. "I got lucky."
Bob Wickman, the fourth of five Atlanta pitchers, got the win by working a scoreless ninth inning and Chad Paronto pitched the 10th for the save.
Braves starter John Smoltz lasted six innings, giving up three runs and eight hits while striking out seven.
"That's a game last year that we lost 75-80 percent of the time," third baseman Chipper Jones told reporters.
"Amazing things happen when you get people out in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings."
Atlanta took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on a two-run homer by catcher Brian McCann, who was 3-for-4 for the game.
But the Phillies chipped away with a single run in the fifth on Jimmy Rollins's home run and two runs in the sixth on RBI hits by Wes Helms and Aaron Rowand.
Renteria tied the game in the eighth and settled it with his homer in the 10th inning.
Agencies
(China Daily 04/04/2007 page24)
