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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
NEW YORK (AP) -- Talk about instant replay.
Picking up right where they left off last October, the New York
Yankees blanked Texas yet again, with Orlando Hernandez allowing two hits in eight innings and Bernie Williams driving in six runs
as the World Series champions beat the Rangers 8-0 Tuesday night in their AL playoff opener.
|  | | Bernie Williams hit a two-run double in the fifth and a three-run smack in the sixth. |
"I always pitch well with pressure," Hernandez said through a
translator. "I like to have pressure when I pitch."
Williams, showing why the Yankees paid $87.5 million to keep
him, had a two-run double off loser Aaron Sele in the fifth, a three-run homer off Mike Venafro in the sixth and an RBI single off Jeff Fassero in the eighth.
"I was kind of sleepy, dragging a little bit," Williams said. "It was cold during batting practice. When I heard the lineup, something in me woke up. It was time to play. This is the postseason. It's not the regular season anymore."
He also made a sliding catch of Juan Gonzalez's liner with two on in the third inning.
"I didn't think I had a shot at it," Williams said. "At the last shot, the ball stayed up longer than I anticipated."
Williams, seeming distracted by his impending free agency, was 0-for-11 against Texas in last year's series and 9-for-48 (.188) in the postseason. He nearly signed with Boston before the Yankees
upped their offer at the last moment.
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GAME 1 AT A GLANCE
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Every game a hero
Joe Torre elected to start Orlando Hernandez over Roger Clemens or David Cone in the opener and El Duque responded like an ace -- two hits in eight innings. In three career postseason starts, El Duque is now 3-0 and has allowed one run in 22 innings.
Key number
The Yankees have now won seven consecutive postseason games from the Rangers going back to the Division Series in 1996. Combined score? 30-11. The Rangers were 13-for-92 (.141) in last year's series.
Last word
"They're a scary team to play against because you know they're
going to break loose. They're
going to score runs when it's all said and done.."
-- New York' Paul O'Neill
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"He's a special person, a special talent," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "For him to have not only the night he had tonight but the year he had this year, it's very impressive. The night he had tonight was unbelievable."
Texas has just one run in its last 42 innings in the playoffs,
all against New York, and has lost seven straight postseason games
since beating the Yankees in the Rangers' first one, in 1996.
"I don't care ... Yankee Stadium, Yellowstone Park, it doesn't matter. We can score more runs than this by accident," Rangers manager Johnny Oates said.
After a day off, the series resumes at Yankee Stadium on Thursday, with Andy Pettitte (14-11) pitching for New York against Rick Helling (13-11).
Last year, New York came off its record 114-48 regular season and flattened Texas in a first-round sweep, holding the Rangers to one run and a .141 batting average over three games.
This year, the Yankees' record slipped a league-high 16 wins to 98-64, creating doubt whether they were strong enough to win their third World Series title in four years.
They certainly looked it Tuesday night as "El Duque" roped the Rangers and improved to 3-0 with a
0.41 ERA in postseason play (one run in 20 innings). Jeff Nelson followed with a hitless ninth.
"They're all great hitters," Hernandez said. "Luck was on my side."
While Texas has led the American League in hitting for two straight years, the Rangers haven't scored a single run in their last 22 postseason innings.
Texas mounted its best threat in the first inning, loading the
bases on a one-out double by Ivan Rodriguez and walks to Rusty
Greer and Rafael Palmeiro. But Hernandez got out of it by striking out Todd Zeile to end the inning.
After that, Hernandez allowed only a single by Rodriguez in the third.
It was reminiscent of his first playoff start, when the Yankees
were trailing Cleveland two games to one in last year's championship
series. "El Duque" got into a two-out jam in the first, retired Jim Thome on a flyout to the right-field warning track, then blanked the Indians through seven innings.
Sele, who lost Game 3 to the Yankees last year, fell behind in
the second inning because of a bad defensive play by Rusty Greer in left.
Tino Martinez singled leading off the second, and was erased on Darryl Strawberry's grounder to second, which Mark McLemore bobbled
slightly.
But Strawberry, who was diagnosed with colon cancer during last
year's series against the Rangers and missed the entire postseason,
hustled down the line and beat shortstop Royce Clayton's throw to avoid a double play. Greer then seemed to lose Ricky Ledee's curving liner in the lights, and it sailed past him to the wall as Strawberry scored on what was ruled a double.
Sele shook Greer's hand in the dugout after the inning, as if to say, "No problem," but the way the Rangers hit in the playoffs, even one run is too much to overcome.
"That's four unearned runs as far as I'm concerned," said Oates, angry with his fielders.
Williams doubled over the head of center fielder Tom Goodwin in the fifth following one-out singles by Derek Jeter and Paul O'Neill. Sele left after walks to Ledee and Jeter in the sixth, and a run scored when O'Neill's grounder to third skipped into outfield off Zeile.
Sele, 11-3 in his final 16 starts of the regular season, allowed four runs -- three
earned -- and six hits in five-plus innings. He also walked five,
but two were intentional.
"We have to play better than this," he said. "We have to
pitch better, hit better and field better to beat them."
Game notes
Palmeiro was Texas' DH because he woke up Tuesday with pain in an
arthritic knee. ... Texas has about 2,000 tickets remaining for Game 3 on Saturday, nearly all obstructed views, and about 6,000 remaining for Game 4 on Sunday. ... Williams has a record 17 RBI in the first round, three more than O'Neill's prior mark. ... Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer sustained cuts to the left jaw and ear when he was hit by Chuck Knoblauch's foul ball. ... New York has won five straight postseason openers.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Texas Clubhouse
NY Yankees Clubhouse
Williams wrecks Rangers with HR, 6 RBI
Zimmer OK after being hit by line drive
Shhhh! Rangers' bats again go quiet
RECAPS
NY Yankees 8
Texas 0
Houston 6
Atlanta 1
NY Mets 8
Arizona 4
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Bernie Williams turns it on against the Rangers.
wav: 145 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Johnny Oates and the Rangers need to "walk the walk."
wav: 101 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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