Thank you Carlos Guillen.  Thank you for giving us a nice cushion last night.  What a refreshing feeling not having to watch the Tigers claw back from an early deficit, especially against a team with a lineup as detonative as the Yankees.

JV pitched a fairly decent game last night -- picking up the win --  against a very patient group of Yankee hitters.  Through only 5.1 innings he was forced to leave the game with a pitch count of 119, handing the ball over the bullpen to pull this one out over the course of the final four frames.  Needless to say, the thought of a winning result in this one was high in doubt.

But they pulled through.  Byrdak, Miner, Rodney did their jobs, giving up only two hits and striking out eight over 2.2 innings of work.  Jones gave up a couple of runs, but the cushion was enough where we would let him slide this time.

Definitely a good start to the series.  Great win.  Now, they need to secure at least a split over the next three games at Yankee Stadium.