The Yankees bullpen turned in an impressive performance last night with four hitless innings:

"This is the way we're supposed to pitch, get our three outs, each of us, and get the ball to Mo," Proctor said. "Hopefully, we can keep it rolling."

Villone walked one batter and Proctor hit one, but Farnsworth and Rivera threw 1-2-3 frames. "Farnsworth looked like Farnsworth," Torre said. "He took it to them."

Villone has a 1.80 ERA, lower than any regularly used reliever other than Mike Myers (0.69), and he attributed his success to being "well-rested, well-taken care of." He says he loves pitching in tight situations and hopes for more.

The relievers combined to throw 59 pitches in the four innings, 39 for strikes. Remove Villone, and 30 of 41 went for strikes. The Yankees bullpen ERA stands at 3.75, second in the league, but watching them lately they don't appear to be that good. They keep the ball in the park, however, only giving up 18 home runs and own the lowest slugging percentage of any AL pen, .365.