Yanks Pound Royals in Opener
04/05/2007
The New York Yankees have made a statement on opening day 2007 in the Bronx, even if it was only against the Kansas City Royals. The Yanks won the game nine to four, getting solid performances from everyone involved. Starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang went 7.1 innings, giving up seven hits and striking out a pair, while allowing just one free base. After a shaky start in which he allowed three earned runs in the first inning, Wang settled down and shut out the Royals the rest of the day, allowing just one unearned run after that. Since it was not a save situation, Scott Proctor came in and pitched a hitless final 1.2 innings to the game, although he did have control issues.
At the plate, it was a complete team effort. The Bombers didn’t live up to their name, however, preferring to dink and dunk their way to nine runs. Either way, they got the runs on the board and won the game. Every starter had at least one hit, and four had a multi-hit opening day, including the top third of the lineup in Damon, Jeter, and Abreu, who all had two hits. After being down 3-0 after one inning, the bats came alive in the second, as the Yanks scored six to put the Royals down and out for good. In a game in which the entire team contributed, Bobby Abreu earned player of the game honors for his two for five performance, including a double in the 2nd that drove in two, sparking the big inning.
Yankees – 9 - 13 - 1
Royals – 4 - 7 - 1
WP: Chien-Ming Wang (1-0)
LP: Zach Greinke (0-1)