BANNER DAY: An announced crowd of 48,226 takes in pregame festivities at Yankee Stadium yesterday as the colors are presented before the Bombers’ 6-3, Opening Day win over the Tigers.Reuters (Paul J. Bereswill for The New Yo)
Grand Opening.
Yes, others contributed to the Yankees’ Opening Day victory over the Tigers at a raw Yankee Stadium. But heading the list of contributors was Curtis Granderson.
Hobbled by an oblique strain that had him doubtful to play earlier in the week, the center fielder put on a show against his former team to lead the Yankees to a 6-3 win in front of 48,226 chilled-to-the marrow customers.
Playing in weather not friendly to barking muscles, Granderson produced a diving catch in the first, reached the second deck in right with a game-winning homer in the seventh off lefty Phil Coke and made a running catch in the ninth.
“I enjoyed watching him play with us,” Tiger starter Justin Verlander said of Granderson. “I can’t say I enjoyed watching him today.”
Granderson suffered the injury in batting practice March 22, and it wasn’t until a conversation with GM Brian Cashman on Wednesday night that Granderson was sure he could play yesterday.
“It was great, except for the weather, that was the only bad thing,” Granderson said of the 42-degree temperature when CC Sabathia delivered the first pitch. “We made it through. We got the victory, and that’s the best thing.”
Granderson had plenty of help in the blueprint victory.
Sabathia allowed three runs (two earned) in six innings, notoriously slow starter Mark Teixeira stroked a three-run homer in the third and Joba Chamberlain, Rafael Soriano and Mariano Rivera (save) recorded the final nine outs without allowing a baserunner.
“It was as scripted,” said Derek Jeter, who drove in a run with a sacrifice liner in the seventh.
Sabathia was impressed with the pen.
“It’s really the strength of our team,” Sabathia said. “We got an up close look today.”
Teixeira pulling a 1-1 pitch into the right-field seats erased a 1-0 Tiger lead and could be the first small step to avoiding starting the season slow for the third straight year in pinstripes.
“Last year was awful, it was embarrassing,” Teixeira said of April 2010, when he batted a putrid .136 (11-for-81) with two homers and nine RBIs in 22 games. That followed 2009, when the switch-hitter batted 200 (14-for-70) with three homers and 10 RBIs in 19 April games.
“Last year overall wasn’t good. I expect a lot out of myself.”
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After Verlander, who allowed three runs and three hits in six frames, split, Tigers manager Jim Leyland opted for Coke, a former Yankees reliever who was part of the package that delivered Granderson to The Bronx, to face Granderson.
No doubt fresh in Leyland’s mind was how badly Granderson hit lefties (.183; 33-for-180) during his last season (2009) in Detroit.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi could have hit Andruw Jones for Granderson, but didn’t.
“He just got behind Granderson [2-0] and basically left no doubt as to what was coming,” Leyland said of the fastball that Granderson, who has homered in each of the last three Opening Day games, hammered.
Only fools make much out of one tilt in a 162-game schedule. However, due to question marks that surround the rest of the rotation, it’s imperative the Yankees win when Sabathia starts.
Yesterday, they lifted the plans off the blueprint and made sure of a Grand Opening.
george.king@nypost.com