Derek Jeter and the Yanks Take Game One [J. Mark English]

NEW YORK (AP) -- In the New York Yankees' modern-day Murderers' Row, one player always stands out: Derek Jeter.

The Yankees captain tied the postseason record for hits, going 5-for-5 with two doubles and a home run to spark New York in its postseason opener, an 8-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.

"He was great," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said. "It was good because it was a tough game."

Bobby Abreu had a two-run double and Jason Giambi hit a two-run homer in the third as New York's big boppers staked Chien-Ming Wang to a 5-0 lead. The five-run burst started, however, with something small -- Johnny Damon's slow roller for a single. Jeter followed with a double that put Nate Robertson in big trouble six outs into his postseason debut.

"When the team has a night like this, you're able to relax a little bit," Jeter said. "But it's a short series. You can't relax."

After the Tigers crawled within two runs, Abreu added a two-run single in the sixth and Jeter hit his 17th postseason home run, an eighth-inning drive off Jamie Walker that upped his postseason career average to .315....

"That's why they've got the payroll they've got," Robertson said. "They bring players in there to do what they did tonight. They fight off tough pitches and even do some damage to pitches that other guys can't do damage on."

Notes: Paul Blair (1969), Paul Molitor (1982), Marquis Grissom (1995), Mike Stanley (1999) and Hideki Matsui (2004) also had five hits in a postseason game. ... With 48 postseason RBIs, Jeter tied Reggie Jackson and Manny Ramirez for third, trailing only Bernie Williams (80) and David Justice (63).