SEATTLE, Oct. 17 ? 
Close your eyes, and this could have been 1996 or 1998 or 1999 or 2000, the championship years. The New York Yankees have played this game ? this smooth, methodical 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series ? dozens of times in their half-decade of October dominance. Eight powerful innings from Andy Pettitte, a homer from Paul O'Neill, a save from Mariano Rivera.
And at the end of the month, invariably, a ring.
A week ago at this time, the Yankees were down two games to none to the Oakland Athletics and headed to California to confront the potential end of their dynasty.
But now, after three straight wins to vanquish the A's and a fourth here today at Safeco Field to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, they have acquired that Yankee glow ? that look of quiet confidence and robotic efficiency that has propelled them to four World Series titles in the last five years. They have played this game dozens of times, and they have run this table before. Perhaps the only difference this time is the degree of difficulty.
"All these postseasons take on similarities," Yankees designated hitter David Justice said. "There are common characteristics on championship teams: solid pitching, good defense, timely hitting. I guess that's what this ballclub has done more consistently than others ballclubs have done."
Yankees Manager Joe Torre ? or for that matter, any knowledgeable Yankees fan ? could have closed his eyes and managed this game in his sleep. Torre made only two moves, each of them obvious. Shane Spencer for O'Neill, the hobbled veteran, in the top of the eighth, and Rivera for Pettitte in the ninth.
Only two other pitchers warmed up in the bullpen, and they were obvious, too: left-hander Mike Stanton and right-hander Ramiro Mendoza. Pettitte's impeccable command and preternatural poise, built up over five previous Octobers, kept them in the bullpen.
Mariners starter Aaron Sele could have closed his eyes and been transported back to 1998 or 1999, when he was with the Texas Rangers, or last season, his first with Mariners. In each of those years, he ran into the Yankees in the postseason, and each time he lost. Sele, who battled command problems for six innings today, fell to 0-5 with a 4.73 earned run average in his postseason career, and 0-4 with a 5.29 ERA against the Yankees.
Sele's downfall today came in the fourth inning. Already trailing 1-0, he fell behind in the count to the first two hitters, and when those two hitters were done, the Yankees' lead was 3-0. Jorge Posada led off by doubling off the right field wall. The throw from right fielder Ichiro Suzuki beat Posada to second, but shortstop Carlos Guillien didn't tag Posada until after he reached the bag.
O'Neill, who hits from the left side, was simply trying to pull a ground ball to the right side of the infield to advance Posada to third. Instead, Sele served up a high fastball that O'Neill yanked over the wall for a two-run homer. O'Neill, whose retirement at the end of this season is one of the worst-kept secrets in baseball, hit just .091 (1 for 11) in the first round, but today he was a living monument to his team's remarkable postseason success.
"I think we're just used to winning big games," he said. "It doesn't mean you can just show up and expect these things to happen. . . . But when we take the field, we've been successful with what we do because of our great pitching and, once in a while, getting a big hit."
For Pettitte, today's victory added another impressive entry to his rapidly growing postseason resume. He is 9-5 in the postseason, and the Yankees are 16-5 in his 21 starts.
The seventh inning today bespoke Pettitte's poise. Holding a 3-1 lead, he gave up a leadoff single to second baseman Bret Boone, then settled in to face Edgar Martinez, perhaps the most dangerous hitter in Seattle's lineup. At one point, as Martinez was working the count to 3-2, Yankees first baseman Tino Martinez strolled to the mound to tell Pettitte the shadows had made it difficult for him to see the ball at the plate the previous inning.
"That relaxed me a little bit," said Pettitte, who proceeded to strike out Edgar Martinez, then get Mike Cameron to hit into an inning-ending double play. "It made me feel like I had a little bit of an advantage."
Today, the things the Mariners had come to count on, the things that propelled them to an AL-record 116 wins, deserted them. They failed to manufacture runs. They failed to get a lead to turn over to their superb bullpen.
Suzuki, the dangerous leadoff man who led the league in hits, stolen bases and batting average, failed to reach base in three at-bats against Pettitte, who exploited Suzuki's one weakness ? his free-swinging approach (only 30 walks all year).
"That was huge for us, keeping him off base," Torre said. "If he's on base, it's so much tougher to go through the middle of that lineup."
With one out in the ninth, Suzuki doubled into the left field corner against Rivera and scored on a pair of wild pitches. The Mariners got the potential tying run to the plate when Bret Boone drew a two-out walk. But with a sell-out of 47,644 screaming for a hit, Rivera got Edgar Martinez to ground out to second to end the game.
"Good pitching, a timely hit," shortstop Derek Jeter said, repeating the Yankees' mantra with typical detachment. "More often than not, you're going to win when you play like that. . . . You can call it a typical Yankee win. I just call it a win."
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