With the 40-year-old veteran reportedly set to announce his retirement in the next few weeks, let's count down the top 10 backstops in the storied history of this franchise...

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While those starting pitchers overachieved in the regular season, the second-rate crew couldn't carry the Bombers past the first round of the playoffs.

Entering this offseason, the Yanks again needed to target starting pitching to support ace CC Sabathia. With Mark Buehrle headed to the Marlins with a four-year, $58 million contract, and top free-agent hurler C.J. Wilson following Albert Pujols to the Angels today, signing for $77.5 million over five years, New York is left once more to pick up the scraps.

Wilson told Jack Curry of the YES Network that he was surprised the Yankees didn't go after him, stating, "Who wouldn't want to be a Yankee?"

General manager Brian Cashman has indicated that the prices are too high for these free agents, but it's hard to believe the richest organization in baseball can't afford to outbid Miami and Anaheim.

So who is left for New York to add to its questionable rotation?

The club is said to have interest in Japanese ace Yu Darvish. The 25-year-old right-hander is 93-38 with a 1.99 ERA over seven seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Those are pretty impressive stats, but the Yankees have to be weary of signing another Japanese pitcher after the Kei Igawa debacle.

Edwin Jackson, who went 12-9 with a 3.79 ERA for the White Sox and Cardinals last year, is another option, but his asking price is said to be too high.

It looks as if the Yanks will instead rely on the trade market with eyes on Gio Gonzalez, John Danks and Jon Niese, but it seems strange that a team with such deep pockets would choose to unload prospects in exchange for top starters, instead of just snatching them up in free agency.

Jordan is one of Bleacher Report's New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. Follow him on Twitter @ JordanHarrison.

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Could A.J. Burnett bounce back from the worst season of his career? Would Phil Hughes be able to live up to expectations after his 2010 record was overinflated thanks to a ridiculous amount of run support? How much would the Yanks get out of over-the-hill veterans Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon? And how much of an impact would rookie Ivan Nova provide?

For the most part, New York's pitching staff overachieved, posting a 3.73 ERA, fourth best in the American League.

They were once again headed up by ace CC Sabathia, who led the team in wins, ERA and strikeouts, but come the postseason, the load was too much to shoulder for the big lefty, who was forced to pitch in three games with Garcia and Colon both worn down and Nova bowing out to injury.

In the end, the Yankees just didn't have enough pitching and will be forced to once again look for reinforcements this winter.

Here are the 2011 grades for the Yankees' pitchers that tossed at least 30 innings:

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Despite the fact that the Bombers' final 10 games come against the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston, they can just worry about getting their rotation in order for Game 1 of the AL Division Series next week in the Bronx.

But could the Yanks make things that much sweeter by helping knock the arch rival Red Sox out of the playoffs? Should New York lay down against the Rays, who trail the Sox by only one game in the loss column in the Wild Card race?

The wise move would be to try and take two out of four from Tampa Bay this week, lock up home-field advantage, then go all out against Boston this weekend and send out the back-end of the 40-man roster to face the Rays down in Florida next week.

Here are the pitching match-ups for the next three days:

Tuesday, Sept. 20—Ivan Nova (15-4, 3.81) vs. Wade Davis (10-9, 4.41)

Nova is not the best rookie pitcher in the AL. Jeremy Hellickson, Guillermo Moscoso and Michael Pineda have all had better seasons because Nova's 15 wins are largely due to the fact that he has received 9.1 runs of support per start, the second most in the Major Leagues behind John Lackey.

That's not to say Nova, who could be the No. 2 starter in the playoffs, hasn't had an excellent year. He's won his last 11 decisions and hasn't lost since June 3.

The right-hander's only outing this year against the Rays came back on May 17, when he held them to just one run on four hits over 5.1 innings to earn the 6-2 victory. Nova is 1-0 with a 5.17 in three career starts versus Tampa Bay.

Johnny Damon has four singles in four at-bats against the 24-year-old, but the rest of the team is 6-for-47 (.128) off him.

Davis tossed a complete game gem against the Red Sox on Sept. 9, his second in four starts, but then followed it up by yielding four runs over 6.1 innings versus the Orioles on Wednesday.

He has not faced the Yankees this year, but is 2-2 with a 3.81 ERA in five career starts against them, including a 1-0 record and 2.25 mark in the Bronx.

Robinson Cano is 5-for-12 (.417) with a homer off Davis, Derek Jeter is 5-for-13 (.385) and Alex Rodriguez is 4-for-12 with two blasts. Mark Teixeira, however, is just 1-for-10 with four strikeouts.

Wednesday, Sept. 21 (Game 1)—Phil Hughes (5-5, 6.00) vs. James Shields (15-11, 2.78)

Hughes, who has been dealing with back spasms, will be making his first start in nine days. He's had two quality outings in his last two starts, but prior to that, he turned in a couple of clunkers and the chances of him making the postseason rotation seem remote. Still, he should add to a formidable bullpen in October.

The right-hander allowed two runs on four hits with six strikeouts over six innings of a 9-2 win over the Rays on Aug. 13 and is 4-3 with a 4.28 ERA in 11 career appearances (six starts) against Tampa Bay.

The current roster hits just .191 off him and Casey Kotchman and Ben Zobrist are both 0-for-10.

Shields, who has been magnificent over his last five starts, has been equally impressive against the Yankees this season, giving up just four earned runs in 22.2 innings (1.59 ERA).

That's a stark difference from his career stats versus New York, which find him 4-10 with a 4.25 mark, including 1-2 with a 3.71 at the new Stadium.

Cano is an awesome 20-for-50 (.400) with three homers off Shields, but Curtis Granderson is a woeful 3-for-38 (.079) with 12 strikeouts.

Wednesday, Sept. 21 (Game 2)—CC Sabathia (19-8, 3.01) vs. Jeremy Hellickson (13-10, 2.91)

The second game of the doubleheader features a guy going for his 20th win against one eying the Rookie of the Year Award.

Sabathia will look to bounce back from a poor performance at Toronto, where he surrendered four runs on 10 hits and four walks over 5.2 innings.

The big lefty has allowed seven runs in 25 frames (2.52 ERA) against the Rays this season and is 9-7 with a 3.13 facing them in his career.

Kotchman is just 4-for-21 (.190) with eight strikeouts, but Evan Longoria is 10-for-28 (.357) with four homers and a 1.393 OPS.

Hellickson has been great over his last six starts, but his season against the Yanks has been uneven. He allowed two runs over seven innings in a win on July 19, but faltered at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 13, when he gave up four runs in 4 1/3 frames. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA in four career outings versus New York.

Cano is 4-for-7 (.571) with a home run off Hellickson, but Russell Martin and Nick Swisher are both 0-for-5.

Thursday, Sept. 22—Bartolo Colon (8-9, 3.81) vs. Jeff Niemann (11-7, 3.95)

As expected, Colon appears to breaking down a bit as he continues to reach innings pitched totals he hasn't seen in six years. Just two of his last six starts qualified as quality outings and he hasn't won since July 30.

The right-hander is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA against Tampa Bay this year, but 9-4 with a 3.71 in his career.

Damon is 18-for-54 (.333) off him and the entire current roster hits a lofty .315.

Niemann held the Yanks to just one run over 7.1 innings for a 5-1 win on July 7, upping his career record against them to 3-0 with a 3.10 ERA. He is 2-0 with a 3.00 in the Bronx.

Jeter is 6-for-13 (.462) with three doubles off him, but Granderson is 1-for-14 (.071) with seven strikeouts.

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Jordan is one of Bleacher Report's New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. 

He can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com

With the score tied at three and nobody out in the bottom of the seventh, Curtis Granderson stepped to the plate with runners on first and second.

Despite ranking second in the Majors with 16 homers, including one earlier in the game, Granderson laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, moving both runners into scoring position and stationing the go-ahead run at third base with less than two outs.

It's not a coincidence that this bit of small ball led to six more runs being scored in the frame and a 9-3 Subway Series-clinching victory.

With a .263 batting average, the chances of Granderson driving in the go-ahead run with a hit were slightly better than one in four. And even though he's averaging an impressive one home run every 11.9 plate appearances, the chances of the outfielder going deep to put the game out of reach were barely above eight percent. Then there's also the chance of Granderson killing the rally entirely by grounding into a double play, something he's already done five times this season.

So the smart move was to put two runners in scoring position—and one at third with a chance to score on an out—for the heart of the lineup.

This move put pressure on the Mets, who intentionally walked Mark Teixeira. I'm not sure how any Yankees fan could be unhappy with Alex Rodriguez batting with the bases loaded. A-Rod is a career .353 hitter with an incredible 22 grand slams in those situations, but he didn't need to hit the ball out of the park in order to give the Bombers the lead.

There are so many ways to score with a runner at third and less than two outs—sac fly, wild pitch, passed ball, error, groundout, balk and a 60-foot infield hit. Some may say Rodriguez's squibber was lucky, but that single would not have scored a run had Granderson not bunted.

What's most encouraging is that Granderson didn't lay down the bunt on his own—manager Joe Girardi called for it.

There are many—myself included—that believe the Yankees rely too heavily on hitting home runs. That's not to say smacking one over the fence is a bad thing, it's the sitting back and waiting for that to happen which is dangerous.

In the playoffs, when you face better pitching, it's far more difficult to hit home runs, and so you have to be able to score in other ways.

It's nice to see the Yankees are still capable of doing that.

Follow me on Twitter at @  JordanHarrison.

Jordan is one of Bleacher Report's New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. 

He can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com

That streak should be tested this weekend as the first-place Bombers battle the Blue Jays, one of the better offensive teams in baseball.

Let's take a look at the pitching matchups for this three-game series.

Friday, April 29: Freddy Garcia (1-0, 0.69) vs. Ricky Romero (1-3, 3.00)

Garcia became the first pitcher to begin his Yankee career with consecutive starts of at least six scoreless innings in 64 years when he silenced the Orioles over six frames on Sunday. The right-hander struck out seven and walked only two in that outing, but manager Joe Girardi pulled him way too early, costing Garcia the win.

Garcia may have some trouble keeping the hot streak going when he battles the Blue Jays, a team that has given him fits over the years. The 34-year-old is 6-5 with a 6.10 ERA in 14 career starts against Toronto.

The current roster hits .300 off him, led by Jose Molina's 8-for-20 (.400). Slugger Jose Bautista is 2-for-4 with a homer and two walks.

Since a 13-3 thrashing of the Twins on April 1, the Jays haven't provided Romero with much run support. They've averaged just one run per game in losing his last four starts despite three quality outings, including a 10-strikeout effort against the Rays on Sunday.

The left-hander is 2-2 with a 5.70 ERA in six lifetime starts against the Yankees, including a 2-1 record and 6.00 mark in the Bronx.

It's strange that Girardi sat Derek Jeter on Thursday despite his 11-for-31 (.355) history against White Sox starter Edwin Jackson when he could've just waited a day and sat the captain against Romero, against whom Jeter is just 1-for-13 (.077).

Other Yankees who struggle against the southpaw include Jorge Posada (3-for-15, .200, 7 K's) and Robinson Cano (2-for-16, .125, 5 K's). I wouldn't be so quick to insert Andruw Jones into the lineup vs. the lefty either; he is just 1-for-9 (.111) off Romero.

Brett Gardner should continue turning things around; he's 4-for-9 (.444) with a homer, double and two walks against Romero. Girardi should bat him first in this series opener.

Saturday, April 30: A.J. Burnett (3-1, 3.52) vs. Kyle Drabek (2-0, 3.30)

Burnett's best start of the season came in his only loss, as he allowed just one run on three hits over eight strong innings in a 2-0 setback to the White Sox on Monday.

The former Blue Jay is 2-4 with a 5.60 ERA over nine career starts against his old club, yielding three runs (two earned) on six hits and five walks through 5.1 innings at Toronto on April 19.

Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion are each 5-for-11 (.455) with multiple homers off Burnett, but Corey Patterson is just 4-for-26 (.154).

In that same April 19 contest, Drabek struggled against the Yankees, surrendering four runs with four walks over 5.1 innings. He bounced back in his next start, though, giving up three runs on five hits through six frames at Texas.

The young right-hander is 0-1 with a 5.56 ERA in two lifetime starts vs. New York, but he has yet to pitch at Yankee Stadium.

Sunday, May 1: Ivan Nova (1-2, 5.82) vs. Jesse Litsch (2-1, 3.86)

After a rough start to the season, Nova pitched into the seventh inning for the first time in his career on Tuesday, limiting the White Sox to one run on five hits over 6.1 innings.

He is 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA in three appearances against the Blue Jays and served up a walk-off RBI double to Travis Snider in the 10th inning, working out of the bullpen on April 19 in Toronto. Luckily for Nova, Snider has since been sent down to the minors.

Litsch allowed three runs over six innings to beat Texas on Tuesday in what was his third good start of the season. The right-hander will be making his fourth consecutive outing on the road Sunday at Yankee Stadium, where he is 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA in two career starts.

Overall, though, Litsch is 1-4 with a 5.72 mark in six appearances against New York. Alex Rodriguez is 4-for-13 (.308) off him, and Gardner is 3-for-5 (.600) with a triple and three RBI. Nick Swisher is just 1-for-9 (.111).

Follow me on Twitter at @ JordanHarrison.

Jordan is one of Bleacher Report's New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. 

He can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com

The Reds are five behind despite playing one more game, and the Indians and Rangers are tied for  second in the American League, all the way back at 19.

New York leads the AL East with a record of 9-5, but will the Bombers be able to keep winning when the long balls decrease?

And that's definitely going to happen unless they plan on hitting 312 homers this year, which would break the current record by 48.

A drop off should also be expected because after playing 11 of their first 14 games at the homer-happy stadium in the Bronx, the Yanks will be hitting the road.

However, the decline may not be felt until New York travels to Comerica Park in Detroit in the first week of May because the Yankees play their next two series in Toronto and Baltimore, two places that ranked among the top 10 in home-run parks last year.

Of the 77 runs New York has scored this season, 48 have come from round trippers. That's an astronomically high 62.3 percent.

The Bombers must find another way to score because, as they have found over the past decade, homers are a lot harder to come by when you face elite pitching in the postseason.

Since 2002, the Yankees have averaged a home run every 26 at-bats during the regular season. But in October, that frequency decreases to once every 29.8 at-bats.

In fact, over its last eight trips to the playoffs, New York has increased its home run frequency over the regular season only twice—in '02 and '07. The team lost in the Division Series both of those years.

Entering Monday's action, Joe Girardi's club is tied for 11th in the AL with just six stolen bases and ranks ninth with only two sac bunts.

I guess it doesn't make sense to sacrifice outs and baserunners when you're hitting a home run once every 17 at-bats, but the Yankees should be prepared to play a little more small ball when those long flies start being caught on the warning track.

Since 1985, only one team has won the World Series after leading baseball in home runs. That was the 2009 Yankees, but then again, that squad had a better No. 3 starter.

Follow me on Twitter at @    JordanHarrison.

Jordan is one of Bleacher Report's New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and authorhouse.com.

He can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com

After an off-day, New York (5-4) returns home to host the first-place Baltimore Orioles (6-3), who have continued to flourish under manager Buck Showalter. Baltimore is 40-26 since he took over last year, so this is a team that needs to be taken seriously.

The O's offense is still struggling, but the pitching staff has been among the best in baseball, ranking ninth in ERA (3.33) and second in batting average against (.216). However, their two best starters so far, Jeremy Guthrie and Zach Britton, will miss this series.

Let's take a look at the pitching matchups for this three-game set in the Bronx.

Tuesday, April 12 - A.J. Burnett (2-0, 4.09) vs. Chris Tillman (0-0, 3.38)

Burnett has shown no signs of last season's struggles thus far, winning both of his starts with solid performances. The often wild right-hander has issued just three walks in 11 innings, compared to 11 strikeouts.

Burnett is 11-4 with a 4.47 ERA in 18 career starts against the Orioles. J.J. Hardy is 5-for-10 with two doubles off him, but is headed to the disabled list with a left oblique strain. Felix Pie is 5-for-15 and Brian Roberts is 15-for-50 (.300) with 10 RBI, but for the most part, Burnett has held Baltimore's hitters in check.

Vladimir Guerrero is just 12-for-50 (.240) with 12 strikeouts, Cesar Izturis is 6-for-27 (.222) and Matt Wieters will probably get a day off as he is an astonishing 0-for-17 against Burnett.

Tillman tossed six shutout innings in his first start at Tampa Bay, but he followed that up with a poor outing against Detroit on Thursday. The right-hander allowed four runs on six hits and two walks over 4.2 frames.

Tillman is 1-1 with a 5.52 ERA in three starts versus New York, and he allowed four runs on nine hits over five innings in his only outing at Yankee Stadium.

The current roster is 18-for-47 (.383) off Tillman, with Robinson Cano leading the way at a ridiculous 6-for-7 (.857) clip. Only Jorge Posada (0-for-6, 3 K's) really struggles against him, so Tuesday may be a good time to give the scuffling veteran a day off.

Prediction: Yankees 5, Orioles 4

Wednesday, April 13 - Phil Hughes (0-1, 16.50) vs. Brad Bergesen (0-1, 4.91)

Hughes has looked awful over his first two starts. In his latest outing at Fenway Park on Friday, the right-hander's velocity was down once again as he surrendered six runs on seven hits over just two innings. If his fastball doesn't return to 92 mph over his next few starts, the Yankees will probably have to put him on the disabled list or send him down to Triple-A to work out his issues.

Hughes is 4-2 with a 5.04 ERA in 11 appearances (eight starts) against Baltimore. Luke Scott has terrorized him, picking up seven hits in 13 at-bats (.538), but Roberts is just 2-for-13 (.154).

With Hardy headed to the DL, the Orioles are expected to recall Bergesen to make this start in place of Chris Jakubauskas (0-0, 15.00 ERA). Bergesen yielded four runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks over 3.2 nnings in a 7-3 loss to the Tigers last Wednesday before being sent down to Triple-A.

The right-hander is 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA in three career starts versus the Yankees, with all three appearances coming in the Bronx.

Alex Rodriguez is 3-for-8 (.375) with a homer off Bergesen, while Curtis Granderson is 3-for-6 with three RBI and Cano is 3-for-7 (.429). Mark Teixeira, however, is 0-for-7 with three strikeouts.

Prediction: Orioles 10, Yankees 5

Thursday, April 14 - Ivan Nova (1-0, 6.10) vs. Jake Arrieta (1-1, 8.68)

Nova's struggles against the Red Sox continued on Saturday, when he gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks over 4.1 innings in Boston, but he should fare better against a weaker lineup like the Orioles.

In his only appearance against Baltimore last year, the right-hander allowed two runs in six innings. Wieters took him deep in that game, but he struck out Pie twice.

After a solid one-run, six-inning debut against the Tigers, Arrieta was knocked around by the Rangers for eight runs in 3.1 innings on Saturday. Britton also pitched that day in a double header, but Arrieta drew the assignment against the Yankees because he has had success against them.

The right-hander is 2-0 with a 3.65 ERA in two starts versus New York, and he allowed just two runs over 6.1 innings in his only career appearance at Yankee Stadium.

Derek Jeter and Cano are both 2-for-5 with a double and a walk off Arrieta, but Nick Swisher is 0-for-5.

Prediction: Yankees 6, Orioles 4

Follow me on Twitter at @   JordanHarrison.

Jordan is one of Bleacher Report's New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and authorhouse.com.

He can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com

After two world championships in the past seven years and an offseason full of big acquisitions, Boston was starting to get uneasy about being Fall Classic favorites.

Enter an 0-6 start.

Now New England's airwaves are filled with fans ready to declare the season over. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Red Sox players are not as insane as some of their fans. Terry Francona's club knows the year has barely begun and it is ready to take its anger and frustration out on its archrival.

Neither team's pitching staffs were expected to be that great and while New York ranks 21st in baseball with a 4.42 ERA, Boston is dead last at a ridiculous 7.13.

But while the Bombers have more than made up for their below-average pitching with solid hitting and an MLB-best 13 homers, the Sox have been just as bad at the plate, batting an astonishingly low .181 through six games.

So will the Yanks' pitching keep the Red Sox down or are we in store for a trio of 11-10 contests that each last four hours?

Let's break down the pitching matchups for this three-game weekend set at Fenway Park.

Friday, April 8: Phil Hughes (0-1, 11.25) vs. John Lackey (0-1, 22.09)

Hughes struggled in his season debut on Sunday, allowing five runs on five hits, including two homers, over four innings of a 10-7 loss to the Tigers. His velocity was way down, leading to only one strikeout.

April has historically been the right-hander's worst month (3-6, 5.80 ERA) and he doesn't have good career numbers against the Red Sox (2-3, 4.97 ERA in 13 appearances and six starts) or at Fenway Park (10 ER in 15 IP).

David Ortiz (5-for-12, .417) and J.D. Drew (6-for-14, .429) have done the most damage against Hughes, but former Ray Carl Crawford (2-for-13, .154) and Dustin Pedroia (1-for-13, .077) have not been as lucky.

Lackey had one of the worst starts of any pitcher in baseball so far this season when he surrendered nine runs on 10 hits, including a pair of long balls, in a 12-5 loss at Texas on Saturday.

Like his counterpart in this game, Lackey has traditionally been a slow starter, racking up a 5.14 ERA in March and April, more than a half-run worse than any other month.

The 32-year-old is 6-8 with a 4.43 ERA in 19 career starts against the Yankees.

Jorge Posada is 13-for-36 (.361) off him, Mark Teixeira is 20-for-57 (.351) with 11 RBI and Derek Jeter is 17-for-54 (.315) with six doubles.

But Alex Rodriguez is just 10-for-57 (.175) with an incredible 25 strikeouts and Nick Swisher is 7-for-51 (.137) with 21 whiffs.

Expect a high-scoring affair.

Saturday, April 9: Ivan Nova (1-0, 4.50) vs. Clay Buchholz (0-1, 5.68)

The Yankees got exactly what they wanted out of their young No. 4 starter in his debut on Monday. Nova turned in a quality start, yielding three runs on six hits and just one walk with three strikeouts over six innings in a 4-3 win over the Twins.

But the righty has not had a lot of success vs. the Red Sox in his short time in the big leagues. He has given up five runs on eight hits and a bloated six walks through seven frames in two appearances.

Drew and Crawford are both 2-for-4 off him and the entire current roster is 6-for-16 (.375).

After surrendering just nine homers last year, Buchholz allowed four solo shots over 6.1 innings in a 5-1 loss at Texas on Sunday, so he better keep the ball down against the slugging Bombers.

The right-hander is 1-2 with a 5.79 ERA in five starts vs. New York and has been knocked around by a number of Yankees hitters.

Robinson Cano is 7-for-15 (.467) with two doubles against Buchholz, Teixeira is 4-for-9 (.444) with two homers, Jeter is 4-for-12 (.333) and A-Rod is 4-for-13 (.308). But Curtis Granderson is 0-for-8 with four strikeouts.

Sunday, April 10: CC Sabathia (0-0, 1.38) vs. Josh Beckett (0-1, 5.40)

Sabathia has been the steady ace the Yankees need so badly this season over his first two starts, but thanks to a Cano error and a bullpen implosion, he has no wins to show for it.

In his last outing against the Twins on Tuesday, the big lefty tossed a two-hit shutout over seven innings and retired the final 17 batters he faced, but the over-cautious Joe Girardi pulled Sabathia after 104 pitches and Rafael Soriano combined with David Robertson to blow the game. You don't see Felix Hernandez, Cliff Lee or Roy Halladay pulled with two-hit shutouts.

Sabathia is 6-5 with a 3.45 ERA in 15 starts against the Red Sox, including a 2-2 record and a 4.05 mark in seven outings at Fenway Park.

Expect Mike Cameron to be in the lineup Sunday because he is 7-for-14 (.500) with a 1.000 slugging percentage vs. the southpaw. Kevin Youkilis is 9-for-22 (.409), but the rest of the roster hits under .300 off Sabathia.

Jason Varitek is 2-for-16 (.125), former Padre Adrian Gonzalez is 1-for-8 (.125), Pedroia is 1-for-22 (.045) with eight strikeouts and Jacoby Ellsbury is 1-for-13 (.077).

Beckett had difficulty putting hitters away with his fastball at Cleveland on Tuesday. He lasted just five innings while allowing three runs on five hits and four walks in a 3-1 loss.

The veteran has not had much success lately against the Yankees. He is 10-7 with a 6.26 ERA in 22 career starts.

Cano is 19-for-56 (.339) with 12 RBI vs. Beckett and Swisher is 10-for-32 (.313), but Teixeira is 7-for-34 (.206) with 12 strikeouts and Granderson is 5-for-21 (.238) with nine Ks.

The Yankees should be disappointed if they don't win the series finale.

Follow me on Twitter at @  JordanHarrison.

Jordan is one of Bleacher Report's New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and authorhouse.com.

He can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com

So far, so good.

After aces CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander battled to a 3-3 tie through six innings, the bullpens entered for both sides.

Joba Chamberlain, recent addition Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera each delivered perfect frames for the Yankees, while the Tigers' bullpen took the loss in a 6-3 decision on Opening Day in the Bronx.

Phil Coke served up a home run to Curtis Granderson to lead off the seventh and Ryan Perry allowed an insurance run after delivering a wild pitch that let Russell Martin advance to third before he scored on a Derek Jeter sac fly.

In the eighth, Perry walked leadoff hitter Alex Rodriguez before being relieved by Daniel Schlereth, who allowed A-Rod to come home on a Nick Swisher single.

But the question remains: How often will the Yankees bullpen have leads to protect when the other four starters are on the mound?

Here are the grades from New York's victory on Thursday afternoon.

Joe Girardi, Manager: (A) Girardi's decision to bat Gardner at the leadoff spot against right-handers is the right one, and hopefully the speedster becomes a better hitter against lefties so he can remain atop the order every game.

It was encouraging to see the Yankees play so much small ball in their first game of the year. Gardner laid down two sacrifice bunts and Martin even stole third base in the third inning.

Brett Gardner, LF: (B) Gardner struck out twice but did his job by sacrificing Martin from first to second with a pair of bunts.

It would be great to see the outfielder continue to do this all season long.

Derek Jeter, SS: (B+) The Captain didn't get any closer to 3,000 hits, but he did draw a walk, scored a run and picked up an RBI with a sac fly in the seventh.

Mark Teixeira, 1B: (A+) Teixeira's three-run homer in the third inning was a very good sign for a guy who has struggled over the first month of the season in his past two years with the Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez, 3B: (A) A-Rod carried his strong spring into the start of the regular season with a double and two walks, but his double could've been a triple had he not jogged out the box thinking the ball was gone.

Robinson Cano, 2B: (D) Cano had a rough spring and it carried over into Opening Day.

He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts but did draw a walk. In the field, he committed a crucial error in the fifth that eventually allowed the tying run to score.

Nick Swisher, RF: (C) Swisher was retired his first three times up, including on two strikeouts, but he hit an RBI single in the eighth before being caught in a rundown on the play.

Jorge Posada, DH: (F) The aging Posada's first day as the Yankees' starting DH did not go very well. He went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and only hit the ball hard once on a flyout to right field in the fourth.

Curtis Granderson, CF: (A+) Granderson didn't show any signs of that oblique injury he suffered less than two weeks ago.

He made two outstanding plays in the field in the first and ninth innings, and hit what would prove to be the game-winning homer in the seventh.

Russell Martin, C: (A) Yankees fans had to love what they saw out of their new starting catcher on Thursday. He went 1-for-3, scored both times he reached base, stole third and hustled home on a sac fly hit to medium center field in the seventh.

CC Sabathia, SP: (B) Sabathia pitched poorly in his previous two Opening Day starts for the Yankees, but he turned in a quality outing this time around. The big lefty yielded three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over six innings.

He threw 70 of his 106 pitches for strikes and probably would have picked up the win if not for that Cano error.

Joba Chamberlain, RP: (A+) Joba retired the top of the Tigers' lineup in order with one strikeout in the seventh for the victory.

Rafael Soriano, RP: (A+) It's certainly not worth nearly $12 million a year, but Soriano retired the heart of Detroit's lineup in order with one strikeout in the eighth.

Mariano Rivera, RP: (A) Mo's job was the easiest of all three relievers, pitching with a three-run lead against the bottom of the order and he would have surrendered a double to Brandon Inge if not for a spectacular play by Granderson, but Rivera will of course receive the most credit.

Yankees Overall Grade: (A) The Bombers got solid starting pitching, great relief pitching and used an impressive mix of small and long ball to win their first game of the year.

Only 161 left to go.

Follow me on Twitter at @ JordanHarrison.

Jordan is one of Bleacher Report's New York Yankees and College Basketball Featured Columnists. His book Memoirs of the Unaccomplished Man is available at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and authorhouse.com.

He can be reached at jordanschwartz2003@yahoo.com

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