They needed two nights and two starting pitchers, but the Yankees finally took Game 1 of their American League division series against the Tigers. Ivan Nova "started" the game -- it resumed in the bottom of the second after rain delayed it Friday -- and held the Tigers in check. He worked into the ninth and didn't allow a run until after he left the game. He struck out five and walked four. Robinson Cano took care of the rest, knocking in six runs. He hit a go-ahead double off the top -- very top -- of the left-field wall and then hit a grand slam in a six-run sixth. For good measure, he added an RBI double in the seventh. Brett Gardner had a key two-strike single that turned a 2-1 lead into a 4-1 advantage. The only downside? Luis Ayala struggled in relief of Rivera, and the Yankees had to turn to Mariano Rivera to throw three pitches. more ›

Now that the Yankees have swept Minnesota, they will have to wait until tomorrow night to find out whether they will be facing the Texas Rangers or the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship series, set to begin Friday evening. The Rays were down 0-2 in the series before bouncing back to win two in a row and even the playing field with Texas, and now the Rays will be facing them for the tie-breaker on their home turf. (Cue DJ Kitty!) more ›

The Yankees are one game away from the American League Championship Series, after last night's dramatic 4-3 win in game two of the Division Series over the Minnesota Twins. The game went into extra innings, courtesy of Alex Rodriguez, who hit a game-tying two-run home run off All-Star closer Joe Nathan in the 9th inning, tying the game at 3-3. Then, in the 11th inning, Teixiera hit a home run—what the NY Times called "a screamer down the left-field line...The ball just cleared the 318-foot sign and sent the crowd of 50,006 into sudden delirium." more ›