Derek Jeter and the rest of the modern-day Murderers’ Row overwhelmed the young Detroit Tigers, getting the Yankees off to a quick start in the first round of the AL playoffs.

Jeter tied the postseason record for hits, going 5-for-5 with a home run to lead New York over Detroit 8–4 last night in its postseason opener.

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.

After the Tigers crawled within two runs, Abreu added a two-run single in the sixth and Jeter hit his 17th postseason home run in the eighth.

Six of New York’s seven RBIs came from Abreu and Giambi, surprising given that Nate Robertson held lefties to a .181 average during the regular season, the best among AL pitchers. Giambi was on base four times, also getting hit by pitches twice and walking.

New York’s lineup, now that everyone’s healthy, poses a mighty challenge for opposing pitchers. All nine starters are current or former All-Stars. Robinson Cano became the first player to ever start a postseason game batting ninth after finishing among the top three in his league in batting, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Alex Rodriguez, the reigning AL MVP, was dropped to sixth in the order, his lowest slot since Seattle batted him eighth on May 7, 1996, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He was a quiet 1-for-4, extending his streak of postseason games without an RBI to nine and his playoff slump to 5-for-36 (.139) over his last 10 postseason games.

Wang, a 26-year-old right-hander who rose through the Yankees’ rotation to become their ace this year, didn’t have his best sinker but got the win by allowing three runs in 6.2 innings. Of the eight hits off him, five were doubles and one was a home run, a drive by Craig Monroe that started Detroit’s three-run fifth.

In a 3-for-30 slide at the end of the season, Damon hit a bouncer between the mound and first. Robertson came off the mound quickly but failed to turn his glove for a backhand, and it rolled by for a single.

Jeter fell behind 0-2, then worked the count full and, with Damon running, lined the ball to left-center for a double. Abreu followed with a double to right-center for a 2-0 lead, extending his arm in excitement after he connected for his first postseason RBIs.

Detroit closed to 5–3 in the fifth, when Monroe homered to center leading off, and Placido Polanco and Sean Casey hit two-out RBI doubles. With Brian Bruney starting to get loose in the bullpen, Wang struck out Ordonez.

Abreu added a two-run single in the sixth, pulling the ball between first and second, just past a diving Polanco at second. Polanco was sidelined from mid-August until the last 10 days of the regular season by a separated left shoulder, rolled over the injured shoulder while trying to knock down the ball on the outfield grass.

Jeter homered to center in the eighth off Jamie Walker to cap off his big night.

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CARDINALS 5, PADRES 1 With one swing of Albert Pujols’ bat, a St. Louis Cardinals lineup that looked so sickly in September suddenly got a lot better under the California sun.

San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy tempted Pujols with one pitch too many and the slugger, who has a shot at a second straight NL MVP award, responded with a two-run homer that launched the Cardinals to a 5–1 victory in the opening game of the division series yesterday.

While Peavy struggled — he left to a mixture of boos and light applause in the sixth — St. Louis ace Chris Carpenter, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, held the Padres’ suspect offense to one run and five hits in 6.1 innings. He struck out seven and walked one.

Even with a change of scenery, San Diego still can’t beat the Cardinals in October. The three-time NL Central champion Cardinals have won seven straight postseason games against the Padres, including division series sweeps last year and in 1996.