JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (Ticker) -- Five-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens started in Oakland. Four-time winner Greg Maddux got the ball in Atlanta. But on the opening day of the 2000 postseason it was relievers Mike James, Britt Reames, Brett Tomko, Jose Paniagua, Jim Mecir and Jason Isringhausen that made the difference. Game One winners St. Louis, Seattle and Oakland all had one thing in common -- great relief outings. The Cardinals used outstanding efforts from James and Paniagua to capture Game One of their National League Division Series, 7-5, over Atlanta.

In Chicago, Tomko and Paniagua combined on 4 2/3 scoreless innings as the Mariners posted a 7-4 triumph in 11 innings over the White Sox. Seattle, the only road team to win today, saw five relievers combine to hold Chicago without a run over the final 6 2/3 innings.

In the lone night game, Oakland drew first blood against the two-time defending world champion New York Yankees, 5-3. The A's remained red-hot behind a solid start by Gil Heredia and three innings of hitless relief by Jeff Tam, Mecir and Isringhausen.

The final Division Series gets underway on Wednesday afternoon when the San Francisco Giants, who posted the top record in the NL, host the New York Mets, winners of the wild card for a second straight season.

The defending NL champion Braves thought they had a huge edge today in their opener, sending Maddux to the mound against rookie Rick Ankiel. But Maddux was victimized by his defense and surrendered six runs in the first inning for the first time in his career.

"They kind of steamrolled real fast," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "We did everything we could to give them six runs. They could not have ordered it up much better. We just could not stop it. It just kept happening."

But while Ankiel was staked to a six-run first inning, he could not hold it and was gone in the third. But James allowed a hit over 2 1/3 innings, Reames, a 27-year-old rookie was even better, holding Atlanta hitless over two frames.

"When you replay this game, it is very, very special," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said. "What Mike James did ... Reames, that young man, what a competitor ... He has been tough, a terrific competitor. That was really the key to the game. A terrific job by the bullpen."

"Sure, there is a little pressure," Reames said. "I was lucky enough to get those guys out today, without giving up any runs. As a reliever, that is what you try to do. You try to prevent guys from scoring."

Today's late afternoon contest featured a seesaw battle between the White Sox and Mariners. But in the end, this game was also decided by the bullpens. Tomko followed ineffective starter Freddy Garcia with 2 2/3 scoreless innings and Paniagua held Chicago scoreless in the seventh and eighth.

After Arthur Rhodes got two outs in the ninth, Jose Mesa retired All-Star slugger Magglio Ordonez with the winning run in scoring position to send the game to extra innings.

"We feel very comfortable with Jose," Seattle manager Lou Piniella said. "He throws a ball hard, and we felt that bringing in Jose at that time to get their righthanded hitters out was the proper thing to do, and he got Ordonez out. ... He made a good pitch to Ordonez and got him out."

Edgar Martinez and John Olerud hit back-to-back homers in the 10th and Japanese rookie Kazuhiro Sasaki capped the dominant effort by the pen with a scoreless bottom of the 10th to notch the save.

The night contest saw Clemens surrender four runs over six innings and Mike Stanton give up a costly run in the eighth. Oakland got a great effort from Heredia then flawless work from Tam, Mecir and Isringhausen, who struck out two in his first postseason appearance.

"Now it's a matter of life or death," Isringhausen said of his first career playoff save. "It's a little bit different than during the regular season when we draw 30,000 against New York and 20,000 of them are cheering for the Yankees."

"I don't see any pressure at all in the clubhouse. Today I came in and it was like it always is. It was just like any other day," Mecir said when asked if the A's were taken aback by the postseason atmosphere.

The Giants will send 1997 postseason hero Livan Hernandez to the mound in the first playoff game in Pacific Bell Park. The Mets are countering with lefthander Mike Hampton, who was acquired in the offseason for exactly these circumstances.

"The plan is to just go out there and to just be Livan," Giants manager Dusty Baker said. "If anyone excels in the postseason, it's Livan. We're going into the playoffs with good health and good mind. ... But when you get into the playoffs it is who can get the two-out RBI that will win it for you."

"Right now, we're sending the best athlete out there for Game One," Mets general manager Steve Phillips said. "It's not a tough decision because (he and Al Leiter) are so close that it would be hard to make the wrong decision."

In the early game Wednesday, Chicago sends lefthander Mike Sirotka to the mound against Seattle's Paul Abbott. The White Sox, who posted the best record in the American League have already surrendered home-field advantage and can ill afford to head to Safeco Field down two games to none.

"Our backs are certainly aginst the wall now," White Sox second baseman Ray Durham said. "We're really going to find out what we're made of tomorrow. We had a lot of opportunites to win that game today. I have to give Seattle credit, they pitched great and made the big defensive plays."

If the Yankees plan on becoming the first team since the 1972-1974 Oakland A's to capture three straight world titles, they face a must-win game on Wednesday. The Yankees 19-game winner Andy Pettitte to the mound against one of the few experienced A's, righthander Kevin Appier.

"I don't think (the losing streak) plays into anything," Pettitte said. It's not a big factor to us. Postseason is a different game."

The Cardinals and Braves resume their series on Thursday.

All Division Series matchups are best-of-five.