ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) – Mike Mussina’s elbow held up just fine, and rookie Robinson Cano provided all the offense New York needed with a huge hit in his postseason debut.

Mussina pitched scoreless ball into the sixth inning, Cano lined a three-run double in the first and the Yankees beat Bartolo Colon again, defeating the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 in Game 1 of their AL division series.

Mariano Rivera saved it for the Yankees, who looked completely fresh – even after a cross-country trek on the heels of a seven-game road trip to end the regular season. They traveled West late Sunday, one day after clinching their eighth consecutive AL East title with a victory over the rival Red Sox in Boston.

Darin Erstad’s RBI single cut it to 4-2 in the ninth, only the 10th earned run Rivera has allowed in 71 career postseason appearances. But the right-hander got pinch-hitter Casey Kotchman on a popup with a runner on first to seal the victory.

New York produced all its offense with two outs and wasted little time getting to Colon, a 21-game winner and leading contender for the AL Cy Young Award.

The Angels’ ace threw one ball in his first 13 pitches, but allowed three straight two-out singles in the first to the middle of New York’s order – Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui – prompting a visit from pitching coach Bud Black. Cano then lined a double to left, clearing the bases.

Cano’s clutch hit Tuesday helped the Yankees to their first victory in a division series opener since they took Game 1 from the Angels in 2002 before losing the next three. New York lost its first-round opener to Minnesota the past two seasons before advancing.

Colon retired Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on five total pitches to start the game, then had two strikes against all four players who got first-inning hits.

Bengie Molina hit a solo home run to center in the seventh for the Angels.

Mussina, a 13-game winner despite being hindered by inflammation near his elbow, struck out four and gave up five hits in 5 2-3 innings.

The right-hander pitched three years to the day after allowing four runs in four innings of a 9-6 loss to the Angels, who rallied from a five-run deficit in Game 3 of their first-round series and went on to win 3-1. The Angels advanced to beat San Francisco in the World Series.

Setup man Tom Gordon got four outs, and 39-year-old lefty Al Leiter also helped out of the bullpen, striking out Erstad in the seventh. Rivera worked the ninth to extend his record to 33 postseason saves in 37 opportunities.

Jeter, the Yankees’ captain playing two days after bruising his right knee on a headfirst slide into second against Boston, reached base in his 21st straight division series game with a single in the second.

Both teams finished 95-67, with the Angels earning home-field advantage after winning six of 10 meetings this season with New York, in its 11th straight playoffs. The Angels are the only team with a winning record (49-48) against the Yankees since Joe Torre became New York’s manager in 1996.

This Yankees team spent the fewest days in first place (20) of any New York first-place club. The 1978 Yankees won the division after spending only 23 days on top of the AL East. New York was in sole possession of first place for nine days this year.

When Los Angeles got a pair of two-out hits of its own in the second, the Angels couldn’t capitalize when Adam Kennedy – who homered off Mussina in the 2002 division series – flied out.

Starting with Kennedy’s out, Mussina retired 12 of his final 14 batters.

Notes: Mussina improved to 3-4 for his career when he’s pitched the opener of a postseason series. … The Yankees batted .233 with two outs and runners in scoring position this year. … Cano had 40 hits in September and batted .381 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. … New York traveled across the country after playing its final seven games away from Yankee Stadium, only the second time in 50 years the Yankees had seven straight road games to end the year (also 1988). … The Angels’ 95 wins this year were the most by any of the organization’s five division champions. The club won 99 games as the AL wild-card team in 2002. … The Angels won three of four from New York in Anaheim this year. … Troy Percival, the Angels’ career saves leader (1997-04) who spent this season with Detroit, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to a loud standing ovation.

AP-ES-10-04-05 2324EDT

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