Yankees Game 1 Recap

Jeter was helped off the field last night in a silent Yankee Stadium

Talk about a roller coaster ride of emotions. The Tigers escaped Game 1 with a 6-4 victory in 12 innings, but more importantly, the Yankees lost their heart and soul of their team, captain shortstop Derek Jeter.

Jeter was having arguably the best postseason on the team going 9-27 (.333 AVG) and he was lost for the season last night after suffering a fractured ankle fielding a ground ball in the 12th. The captain went down clearly in pain, and had to be helped off the field. This is a crushing blow for the Yanks, and watching Jeter get carried off the field was probably the saddest moment of my baseball fanhood.

That moment was the lowest of the lows, but there were some ups and downs during this game. The Yankees were down virtually the entire game after having the bases loaded in three different innings and getting nothing to show for it. This was a good sign considering that they didn't create many chances to score in the Baltimore series, but moral victories don't get you anywhere and they were down 4-0 going into bottom of the 9th.

This was where the roller coaster factor came in. Everyone, including myself, figured this to be a game of missed opportunities and were not excited for Game 2. This all changed in a heartbeat when Ichiro Suzuki and "Mr. Clutch" himself Raul Ibanez each hit 2-run home runs to tie the game at 4-4. It was nice to see them rally a little bit, considering the Yanks had only scored more than 1 run once in the playoffs up until that point.

Fast-forward back to the 12th and the game ended with a Yankees loss, a season-ending injury for Jeter, and many question marks heading into Game 2. Hiroki Kuroda will be on the mound on short rest, and he will need to keep the Yankees within striking distance considering their leadoff hitter and top run creator is gone for the year.

The Yankees need to win considering Justin Verlander will be on the mound in Game 3, and being down 2-0 heading to Detroit facing Verlander isn't exactly the ideal situation.

One Last Thing: Nick Swisher missed a liner in the 12th that essentially keeps the Tigers from rallying. That play needs to be made in the playoffs, no excuses.