Mike Mussina felt much better as soon as rookie Robinson Cano gave the New York Yankees an early lead. Just like that, the right-hander wasn't as concerned about his tender elbow.
Mussina pitched scoreless ball into the sixth inning, Cano lined a three-run double in the first and the Yankees beat Bartolo Colon again, defeating the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 in Game 1 of their AL division series Tuesday night.
``When you're pitching on the road and you get to go to the mound in the first inning with runs, that's a big deal,'' said Mussina, who missed much of September because of his ailing elbow. ``This is only the third time I've been to the mound since I had three weeks off. One was good and one was bad, so I didn't have any idea what to expect.''
Mariano Rivera saved it for the Yankees, who looked completely fresh -- even after a cross-country trek on the heels of a seven-game road trip to end the regular season. They traveled West late Sunday, one day after clinching their eighth consecutive AL East title with a victory over the rival Red Sox in Boston.
``We've been playing important games for the last month or so now,'' Yankees captain Derek Jeter said. ``It doesn't matter whether we're home or on the road.''
Darin Erstad's RBI single cut it to 4-2 in the ninth, only the 10th earned run Rivera has allowed in 71 career postseason appearances. But the right-hander got pinch-hitter Casey Kotchman on a popup for his first postseason save since blowing chances in Games 4 and 5 against Boston in the 2004 AL championship series.
``I always have confidence,'' Rivera said. ``It's big. It's good to win.''
New York produced all its offense with two outs and wasted little time getting to Colon, a 21-game winner and leading contender for the AL Cy Young Award.
The Angels' ace threw one ball in his first 13 pitches, but allowed three straight two-out singles in the first to the middle of New York's order -- Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui -- prompting a visit from pitching coach Bud Black. Cano then lined a double over Garret Anderson's head in left, clearing the bases with a huge hit in his first postseason at-bat.
``I had two strikes. I wanted to take my chance,'' said Cano, whose drive went to the opposite field. ``It's something I've been working on all year in the big leagues, to use the whole field.''
Cano began the season with Triple-A Columbus, but was promoted in May as general manager Brian Cashman shook things up to get the Yankees out of an early-season skid.
After a sensational September that earned him AL rookie of the month honors, Cano's clutch hit Tuesday helped the Yankees to their first victory in a division series opener since they took Game 1 from the Angels in 2002 before losing the next three. New York lost its first-round opener to Minnesota the past two seasons before winning three straight to advance.
Colon retired Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on five total pitches to start the game, then had two strikes against all four players who got first-inning hits.
New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera throws to the plate during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, Tuesday night, Oct. 4, 2005, in Anaheim, Calif. The Yankees won 4-2.