Division Title Hopes Kept Alive with Game One Victory

With the Game 161 kicking off, I'll keep this short and sweet.

The Good
The one through five hitters were 9 for 24 (.375) with four walks, five runs, five RBI, and five extra-base hits.

The Bad
The team was 3 for 21 with runners in scoring position.

The Ugly
Andy Pettitte struggled putting batters away, requiring 88 pitches to get through only four innings, allowing a great deal of hard contact in leaving several pitches out over the plate - certainly not the sort of performance one would like heading into the postseason. This is particularly jarring due to Pettitte's lack of fine-tuning following his injury issues.

This was a sloppy game with a great many ups and downs, with Kerry Wood in particular leaving me on the edge of my seat (walking three and plating a run with a wild pitch). Regardless, the Yankees won and, in the end, they control their own fate - a sweep of the Red Sox means a division title.

Player of the Game: Robinson Cano - 3-5, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI

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