At his locker early Sunday morning, Derek Jeter said he was no Yankees savior, but a chill went through the dugout three hours later as he homered to right in his first at-bat.

Alfonso Soriano said it looked like old times, and Andy Pettitte said Jeter might as well have been swinging a magic wand.

Chris Stewart did not say anything at all. “I just thought it must be nice, making it look that easy,” Stewart said.

Jeter arrived after a 17-day absence with a quadriceps strain, on top of missing the first 91 games recovering from a fractured ankle, and with one swing, on one pitch, he punctuated precisely what the Yankees hope they can recover with his return.