Johnson Shuts Down BoSox As Yanks Win 9-2

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From the Daily News:

Johnson Shuts Down BoSox As Yanks Win 9-2

By RONALD BLUM
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Randy Johnson shut down Boston in his New York debut, dominating his new team's old rival. He outpitched David Wells, got help from Hideki Matsui and a rejuvenated Jason Giambi and led the Yankees over the World Series champions 9-2 Sunday night in the major league opener.

Already, there were bad omens for the Red Sox: Matsui leaped in left to rob Kevin Millar of a two-run homer in the third, Giambi stretched to reel in two bad throws by shortstop Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez made a diving stop at third on Edgar Renteria, and Tino Martinez made a backhand dive at first to prevent an extra-base hit by Johnny Damon.

By the time Matsui hit a two-run homer off Matt Mantei for a 8-1 lead in the eighth, it was almost piling on.

With Boston taking the field as champions for the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox returned to the scene of their improbable triumph staring directly at the 6-foot-10 Big Unit, brought to the Bronx to help the Yankees win their first title since 2000.

Giambi, back at first base following injury, illness and a reported admission of steroid use, received a pair of standing ovations from the sellout crowd of 54,818 and went 1-for-2 with a single and two hit-by-pitches.

Gary Sheffield, back from offseason shoulder surgery, hit a go-ahead single in a three-run third inning against Wells, and Martinez received two huge ovations in his first game in pinstripes since 2001.

Since New York moved within three outs of sweeping the Red Sox in the AL championship series last October, the Red Sox had won eight straight, becoming the first major league team to overcome a 3-0 postseason deficit, then blowing out St. Louis in the World Series.

But following an offseason of joy in New England, the Red Sox started with a thud, pitching poorly, making a pair of errors and losing their fifth straight season opener. New York had 15 hits off Wells and six relievers.

The usual swells and celebrities were on hand to watch the Yankees extend their winning streak in home openers to eight. A sign in left field expressed the hope of New York fans - "1918-2004-2090" - referring to the years of Boston's last two Series titles and projected date of its next.

Johnson was a model of quiet focus hours before the game, putting on a black undershirt, then a gray sweat shirt before sitting in front of his new locker near manager Joe Torre's office and looking ahead, gathering his thoughts.

Hitting Johnson is, well, a tall order - the New Yorker's playful front-page cartoon of him on the mound cut off at the neck.

He opened with a 93 mph pitch to Damon, and struck out Renteria and Manny Ramirez looking in the first, the latter on a smoking 97 mph heater. He got in trouble in the second, when Matsui grabbed Millar's fly ball and Jay Payton singled in the season's first run.

But Bernie Williams' sacrifice fly tied the score in the bottom half, and New York took a 4-1 lead in the third on Sheffield's double, Matsui's RBI single and a bases-loaded balk by Wells, who stepped back to start his windup and then stopped.

Rodriguez, vilified by Boston during the offseason and spring training, added a run-scoring single in the sixth off Blaine Neal and scored on Ruben Sierra's double.

Johnson allowed the one run and five hits in six innings and struck out six. Tanyon Sturtze and Tom Gordon finished with one-hit relief.

Wells, who pitched a perfect game for New York in 1998 and helped the Yankees win the World Series that year, was starting in place of Curt Schilling, his bloody sock in the Hall of Fame and the ankle it surrounded still recovering from surgery that followed the title.

Signed to fill the gap created by the departures of Pedro Martinez and Matt Clement, Wells made a shaky debut, allowing four runs and 10 hits in 4 1-3 innings.

It was a night of milestones - the first night opener at Yankee Stadium, the first time the Red Sox played as defending champions since 1919, when they opened with a 10-0 win over New York at the Polo Grounds behind a Babe Ruth home run.

Johnson made his 13th opening-day start, tying Roger Clemens for the lead among active pitchers.

New York, with the first $200 million payroll in baseball history, had a former All-Star in every spot in its starting lineup, the first time that happened in the major leagues since the Yankees did it on July, 24, 2003, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. In all, it added up to 53 All-Star appearances.

Notes:@ Flags were at half-staff and a moment of silence was observed one day after the death of Pope John Paul II, who celebrated mass at Yankee Stadium in 1979.

Congratulations to the Yankees on this opening night at Yankee Stadium. GO YANKEES!!!

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Also from the Daily News:

Yankees' Unit Comes Up Big

New ace knocks off Sox in opener

BY SAM BORDEN
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

It felt like October in April last night at the Stadium. The temperatures were in the 30s, fighter jets flew overhead following the national anthem and a perpetual buzz lingered over the park before a pitch was even thrown. Despite the date, it seemed just like Game 7 of the ALCS.

Just like it, that is, except for the result.

Where the Yankees failed last fall, they flourished yesterday. Randy Johnson gave them the start they spent all winter searching for and the bats that were silent six months ago finally erupted, as the Bombers crushed the rival Red Sox in their season-opener, 9-2. It surely wasn't vengeance for the Yankees, but it was a start.

"It's the first game we've won since Game 3," Joe Torre said. "It was a long winter waiting to get on the field again."

The Big Unit, who came to the Bronx in a long-anticipated offseason trade with Arizona, allowed one run and five hits over six innings, walking two and striking out six.

After coveting him for years, George Steinbrenner saw Johnson as he had imagined him: intimidating, overpowering and viciously clever, mixing his hard slider with his harder fastball and keeping the Sox hitters limp.

"He was great," The Boss said as he left the Stadium and Johnson, who said repeatedly that he was going to downplay his first start in the days leading up to the game, admitted afterward that it felt different than his previous 12 Opening Day outings. The highlight, he said, was receiving a loud ovation as he walked from the dugout to the bullpen to warm up before the game.

"It was nice to get a feeling of what it's going to be like here," Johnson said. "I'm pretty happy that today's over and that it worked out the way it did."

The Stadium radar guns had Johnson reaching speeds of 97 mph in the first inning, indicating that he wasn't feeling restricted by the sleeves he wore under his pinstripes. He allowed his only run in the second inning, when David Ortiz doubled and Jay Payton drove him in with single, but was otherwise in control, working out of a first-and-third jam in his final frame by getting Payton to ground out.

Johnson's debut was just one of many new beginnings, however, not the least of which was the start of the Red Sox's reign as World Series champions - the first time that has happened since Opening Day, 1919.

David Wells was also starting anew, and got roundly booed in his first outing for the Sox after deriding Boston while playing for the Bombers from 1997-98 and 2002-03. He has reveled in life with the carefree Red Sox and was sporting a full beard last night - something that's prohibited in the Yankee clubhouse.

Unfortunately for the Sox, Wells wasn't nearly as successful as Johnson, getting tagged for four runs and 10 hits over 4-1/3 innings. He also hit Jason Giambi twice.

Giambi certainly won't complain about the free passes, though he didn't need much help in making an auspicious debut of his own; he went 1-for-2 in his first game since an offseason report in the San Francisco Chronicle said he admitted to using steroids during grand jury testimony in the BALCO case.

While fans on the road may rip him, Giambi was warmly embraced at home, getting a half-standing ovation as he walked to the plate for his first at-bat, followed by a full salute after the first baseman ripped a single to right. He was replaced by Tino Martinez, who drew a thundering ovation when he was announced in the top of the seventh.

Boston struck first with its run in the second, but the Yanks swiftly erased the deficit, tying the game at 1 in the bottom half when Hideki Matsui singled, went to third on Giambi's hit and scored on Bernie Williams' sac fly to left.

Matsui had saved Johnson a two-run homer when he reached over the left-field fence to pull in Kevin Millar's fly in the top of the second.

"They don't play much basketball in Japan, so I didn't know if he could jump that high," Derek Jeter said.

Matsui finished the night 3-for-5, including a two-run homer in the eighth off Matt Mantei to cap the onslaught. Jeter was 2-for-5 with two runs scored, Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-6 and drove in a run and newcomer Tony Womack was 3-for-5.

Afterward, everyone stressed that this was only the first scene in a drama that has been played out to its limit each of the past two seasons. There is much, much more to come.

"Don't jump off yet, boys and girls," Millar said. "We'll be back on Tuesday."