Bronx, N.Y., April 7, 2008 — The Yanks of 2008 seem to be building a reputation for doing things the hard way. They struggled to an opening series win over Toronto by eking out two 3-2 victories. And now they have salvaged a four-gamer with Tampa Bay by winning the third and fourth games in frigid Yankee Stadium.

The home-standing Bombers hit but one run-scoring hit Sunday in the 2-0 win, and for five innings Monday night it seemed they would adhere to the same strategy. One of the few Yanks with a hot early stick, Bobby Abreu got off on a three-hit night by drilling a two-run home run on a 3-1 Jason Hammel fast ball in the first inning, and Mike Mussina denied the Rays any serious chance to eclipse that mark. Moose was very good, holding the Rays to just two hits through six, even if one of them was Jonny Gomes’s long home run to left that halved the Yankee lead in the third.

All is not well in Yankee land, however. Wilson Betemit, playing first for the second consecutive game while Jason Giambi nurses a hamstring tweak, shifted to shortstop in the third as Yankee Captain Derek Jeter had to leave with a strained quad. Jeter sustained the injury, apparently, busting out of the box when he followed Johnny Damon’s leadoff first-inning single with a two-hopper to third. The only consolation is that it was a key play. After beating the relay to first, Derek was able to score in front of Abreu’s home run to the lower deck, a no-doubt-about-it liner that may not have travelled very deep, but that got there in an instant.

Mussina had retired the Rays on eight quick first-inning pitches, finishing with a swinging strike out of Carlos Pena on a killer change of pace. Despite falling behind B.J. Upton 3-0 leading off the second, Mike got him on a bouncer to Jeter, then two popups. Gomes homered on a 2-1 pitch leading off the third, and Jason Bartlett worked a one-out walk, but Mike followed with five straight ground outs, the last three closing out the visitors in the fourth on just six pitches, for a four-inning total of 44.

Mr. Hammel was dealing too by this point. He got the Yanks one-two-three in the second, mixing in a smattering of sliders, curves and changes with his 92-mph heater, which he pounded as quick as 94 on one occasion. New York failed to score after a leadoff double for the second day in a row, this one in the third by Jose Molina, who exposed Eric Hinske in right with his liner toward the corner. Damon bunted foul, then lofted a short fly that was at least in the right direction, though second baseman Iwamura easily corraled it in short right. Playing first following the Jeter injury, Ensberg flied to center, which left Molina anchored on second, too far from home to score when Abreu drilled a two-out single to Upton in center. After an A-Rod bouncer to third to escape, Hammel got Hideki Matsui, Robbie Cano, amd Betemit in the fourth on just four throws, which means that between the two pitchers, six outs were garnered on just 10 throws in the fourth inning.

But Mike was still protecting a slim one-run lead when he took the mound in the fifth, having allowed just the home run and the walk. Featuring his curve as an out pitch, he struck out both Manny Aybar and Gomes swinging, but he couldn’t get a third one past backup catcher Mike DeFilece, who finally lofted a two-out double to left center. Moose got Bartlett to fly to center on a full count, and he got a good start in the sixth inning by coaxing his ninth and 10th ground ball outs. The Yanks overshifted on Pena, with Cano playing short right field really; he did the same with both Pena and lefty-hitting Cliff Floyd on Sunday. But corraling grounders in short right solves just half the problem; the throw that follows needs to travel double the distance. Robbie snagged a Pena two-out grounder and threw quite short to first. Ensberg, looking like he was attempting to catch the first bounced throw he had ever seen, failed to handle it cleanly, and the inning was extended. But Upton bounced to third, and although we did not know it at the time, Mussina’s night was over.

Moose threw 82 pitches, 52 for strikes, and he used the five Rays swings and misses to garner three strike outs. With his array of pitches, Mike often collects out in many ways, usually a spread between flies, grounders, popups and grounders. Perhaps because of the tight score and because he was reacting to the Gomes bomb, he was different this game. His outfielders recorded but one fly ball out. Moose got three infield pops to go with the K’s; the rest was ground outs, 11 in all. He threw 15 of 22 first-pitch strikes, and showed he could pitch effectively with that arsenal even though his fastball may have never exceeded 85 mph the whole night.

The game loosened considerably once Abreu led off the bottom of the sixth. His long drive to right center off the top of the wall eluded both Hinske and Upton long enough for Bobby to speed to third. Rodriguez took a pitch, then lined a single to right center for a 3-1 lead. Trying to get a feel for Joe Girardi’s managerial style, we debated whether Alex would run on a 3-2 pitch to Matsui; he did and therefore scored standing after Hideki’s hot shot toward first got past Pena and into the corner for a double. Ensberg, Matsui, and Cano singles around an Abreu seventh-inning walk netted two more. It’s a testament to Abreu that he took the 3-2 pitch when he was just a double short of a cycle, team play at its finest.

Brian Bruney and Kyle Farnsworth worked the seventh and eighth, with the latter irking some fans apparently because he did not implode as they expected he would. He persevered through five Iwamura two-strike fouls before whiffing the second sacker. Latroy Hawkins worked a scoreless ninth, though he took time between all of the 22 picthes. He gave a single and a walk, but bottom line he pitched a scoreless frame, on a strike out and two of those ground ball outs we heard so much about. Many fans grumbled about the number he wears on his back; my only complaint was that we had it won but he took forever to close it out.

So the Yanks posted a four-three record on their opening home stand, splitting the Opener and the Saturday game under nice conditions, but winning three of the remaining five as the fans froze in the cold and the wind. The pitching was very good, and the offense broke double digits in hits for the first time in this win. They have injury issues as they head out on the road, but no time to dwell on them as Kansas City hosts them in their Opener tomorrow afternoon. The fifth starter needs to get on track, but the veteran Mussina took huge strides this night. And the bullpen backup crew did a good job too.

The Yanks are away from home for 18 of the next 20 games, to be played in the next 21 days. After the K.C. stop, they play three in Boston this weekend, then play the Red Sox in the Bronx a week from tomorrow. With the arms looking good and the bats awakening, the team looks ready as it heads off on the road. As I sit here popping cough drops and sniffling, I am reminded that the conductor Percy Faith would have been 100 years old today. He and his orchestra had a big hit decades ago with a tune that served as the anthem of a movie very much of its time.

When the Yanks return next Tuesday, I hope the Stadium greets 55,000 crazed fans in the spirit of that tune. I can’t see how it would cause any harm, really, if the Stadium that evening were to feel like:

A Summer Place

BTW,TYW

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!