The Buckeye Connection in New York! Nick Swisher, of Col., Ohio, wins game in 9th for The Boss, who was born in Rocky River, Ohio. (Photo by Bill Menzel)

YANKEE STADIUM -- This one was for The Boss.

With 2 outs In the bottom of the ninth inning of last night's 3-game series opener, Nick Swisher (3 for 5, HR, 3 RBI) lined a game-winning RBI single to right that scored teammate Curtis Granderson from second to lift New York (57-32) over the Tampa Bay Rays (54-35), 5-4.

As the battle between the Yankees and Rays - the top 2 teams in baseball - kicked off during the twilight hours of the day, the occasion marked the first game New York has played since the passings of iconic Stadium public address announcer Bob Sheppard (1910-2010) and principal owner George M. Steinbrenner III (1930-2010) earlier this week.

For a moment it seemed as though Derek Jeter would be the one to get the ninth-inning, walk-off hit, as New York had men on first and second with 1 out. Tampa reliever Dan Wheeler, however, spoiled what 47,524 screaming fans thought was going to be another clutch moment in Jeter's portfolio when he struck the Yankee captain out swinging with a 74 mph slider low in the zone.

One would think Jeter would be the ideal guy to end the night with a walk-off hit, that it would've brought the game to a fitting ending.

Jeter thought otherwise.

"The Boss didn't like the [Michigan State Wolverines], so that's why I struck out," Jeter told one of the beat writers in jest.

Never short on superstition and subtle humor, Jeter's words, albeit playful, were referring to the Ohio State Buckyes-Michigan State Wolverines college football rivalry. Jeter was born in New Jersey but raised in Michigan, ergo it was apropos that the glory last night instead belonged to Steinbrenner's fellow Ohioan and lifelong Buckeyes supporter, 2010 AL All-Star right fielder Nick Swisher.

"The goal tonight was to win," said Swisher, who was born in Columbus, Ohio, and played Division 1 baseball for Ohio State. "We wanted to win it for [Mr. Steinbrenner] tonight, and we did."

The Yankees won the game in comeback fashion, the way George Steinbrenner would've appreciated.

"We never died, we never gave at-bats away," said Yankee catcher Jorge Posada (1 for 3, HR), who hit his 10th homer in sixth inning.

The game itself was an uphill battle for New York, whose ace, C.C. Sabathia, wasn't at his sharpest.

With 1 out in the top of the second, Ben Zobrist reached on an infield single to third and scampered into second on Alex Rodriguez's errant throw (E, 6) to first, which went wide of an outstretched Mark Teixeira. Zobrist then scored on Willy Aybar's sac fly to deep center to give Tampa a 1-0 lead.

Tampa's All-Star third baseman, Evan Longoria (1 for 4, RBI), doubled in Jason Bartlett (2 for 4, 2R) to make it 2-0 in the third. In the Yankees' half of the inning, Nick Swisher cut the lead in half with an RBI single through the right side that scored Brett Gardner.

Tampa's offense loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth on Sabathia, when Carl Crawford (2 for 5) singled to right. The next batter, Longoria, however, fell victim to a pitcher's best friend when he bounced into a 5-4-3 double play. Bartlett scored on the play to increase the Rays' lead to 3-1, but Longoria wasn't credited with the RBI.

New York tied the game, 3-3, in grand fashion in the sixth with back-to-back homers from Robinson Cano (17) and Jorge Posada (10). Posada's blast to the second deck in right marked the 3rd time the Yankees have hit back-to-back homeruns this season, and the 7th time the they've gone deep multiple times in the same inning.

Both homers came off Tampa starter James Shields, whose night ended as soon as Posada's ball landed. In six innings, Shields allowed 3 runs on 4 hits (2 HR).

Tampa regained the lead, 4-3, in the top of the seventh, when B.J. Upton (2 for 4) scored on a fielder's choice. The tie-breaking run came on Ben Zobrist's RBI groundout, which followed Sababthia's key strikeout of slugger Carlos Pena a batter earlier with the bases loaded. The Yankee ace finally got out of the inning by getting Kelly Shoppach to ground out softly to second.

"[Mr. Steinbrenner] always talked about being tough, being a warrior; that's what C.C. was tonight,"  said an emotional Joe Girardi after the game. "I thought we played like Mr. Steinbrenner expected."

Sabathia escaped having given up only 1 run one that inning despite loading the bases, bringing an end to an outing in which he allowed a total of 4 runs on 8 hits in 7 innings.

Nick Swisher knotted the game at 4-4 in bottom of the seventh with a leadoff homerun (16) to the second deck in right.

Mariano Rivera gave up a leadoff single to Upton in the ninth, but he'd pick him off at first for the first out. Rivera then got Crawford to fly out to right, and Longoria went down looking at a 2-2, 93 mph cutter on the outside corner.

After Nick Swisher singled in Granderson to win the game in the bottom of the inning, the mellifluous tune of Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" momentarily gave way to one last post-game, public address announcement from the legendary Bob Sheppard, whose voice, even from beyond the grave, commands a level of reverence that no one else in his line of work will ever match.

As a native of The Bronx, I can honestly say that Mr. Sheppard's voice was part of the backdrop of my childhood.

Get home safely.

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