Bernie Williams threw out the first pitch, which I hear got to the plate on a bounce … reminiscent of his last few years in centerfield, eh?  Whatever, I still love and miss Bernie and it’s great to see him back, even as an old-timer.

Down to business … facing the Yankees’ former nemeses, the Angels, Andy Pettitte was again masterful.  He struck out six over six shutout innings, allowing only five hits, for his first win of the season (his stellar start against Boston last week yielded a no-decision; his ERA through his first two starts is 0.75).

On the offensive side, Nick Johnson homered in the first inning, and Derek Jeter homered in the third. 

Johnson, Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, and Curtis Granderson all drove in runs, and Robinson Cano continued his hot hitting, going 2-for-5 with a run scored.

The Yankees ran into trouble in the ninth up 7-1, when David Robertson loaded the bases on three (relatively cheap) singles, got a strikeout, and then gave up a grand slam to Bobby Abreu — however, all that ultimately meant was that Mariano came in and retired Torii Hunter and Hideki Matsui on seven pitches, sealing the 7-5 Home Opener victory.

Record: 5-2. And what’s this about the Yankees being slow starters?  Against three of the league’s best teams, no less.

Next Up:  Javier Vazquez aims for redemption once again.  Joel Piniero (Anaheim) vs. Vazquez, Wednesday, April 14, at 1:05 PM.

Till next time,

Ana

Now Playing: 1999 – Prince