(AP Photo/Jim Mone)| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| NYY | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 0 | |
| MIN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
WP - Andy Pettitte (1-0)
LP - Carl Pavano (0-1)
SV - Mariano Rivera (1)
Step one of the Yankees playoff journey is now complete after the Yankees finished off their sweep over the Minnesota Twins. It was a classic pitcher's duel from the start, as Andy Pettitte and Carl Pavano -- yes, that Carl Pavano -- matched zeros over the first 5 innings. Both pitchers were on top of their game and had hitters on both sides looking foolish.
Pettitte, who had a perfect game through four, blinked first when he allowed a run in the bottom of the sixth, briefly giving the Twins a 1-0 lead. With two out Denard Span singled and stole second. That was followed by a walk to Orlando Cabrera to put runners on first and second for Joe Mauer. Mauer didn't waste any time, smacking Andy's first offering into left for an opposite field RBI single. Pettitte would settle down and struck out Michael Cuddyer to end the inning.
As we learned over the first two games of this series and the seven meetings in the regular season, no Twins' lead is safe against the Yanks, and they wasted no time erasing the 1-0 deficit tonight. After Mark Teixeira led off the inning with a ground out it was time for some more October magic from Alex Rodriguez. It was another terrific at-bat for Alex, who worked the count full after falling behind 0-2. He launched Pavano's seventh pitch of the at-bat 400+ feet the other way over the baggy, and the game was tied. Two batters later the Yanks took the lead for good when Jorge Posada golfed a sinker at the knees just over the wall in left for another solo homer. I still don't know how he hit that pitch that far to the opposite field.
Pavano would complete the inning to finish off what really was a great game for the former Yankee punch line. In seven innings, he allowed two runs on five hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out nine.
Pettitte stayed in to start the seventh to face the left-handed Jason Kubel, and struck him out before Joe Girardi went to the pen. It was vintage Pettitte, as he allowing just one run on three hits, walking one, and striking out seven in 6.1 innings. With the performance Pettitte now had 15 postseason wins, tying him with John Smoltz for the all-time mark. He only threw 81 pitches on the night, and probably could have remained in the game, but with a one-run lead Girardi wasn't going to take any chances.
Joba Chamberlain replaced Pettitte in the seventh and allowed a one out double to Delmon Young, putting the tying run in scoring position. If you were starting to get a little nervous at this point, don't worry, you were not alone. But Joba settled down and got Brendan Harris to ground out to third for the second out, and then finished off his outing by striking out Jose Morales on a nasty slider for out number three.
After the Yanks went down quietly in the top of the eighth, Phil Hughes came on in the bottom half of the inning. Hughes, who hasn't been that great so far this postseason, allowed a leadoff double to Nick Punto, and once again the Twins had the tying run in scoring position, this time with nobody out. Then came another one of those plays by Derek Jeter that won't show up in a box score, but completely changed the game.
Span hit a chopper up the middle, Jeter ranged to his left and got to the ball, but with Span's speed he had no play at first. Punto, so pumped up about scoring, missed the stop sign at third and continued on his way to home. Jeter saw it (of course) and fired to the plate. Punto who was about a third of the way towards home, finally realized what was going on and tried to get back to third, but thanks to a perfect throw by Posada he was too late. A-Rod placed the tag well before Punto could reach third and all the air in the building was let out at once. Any chance the Twins had at winning this game died on that play.
Hughes then retired Cabrera on a fly out to center for the second out before giving way to the great Mariano Rivera. Had a weaker hitter been up Hughes probably stays in the game, but with Mauer coming up, once again Girardi wasn't taking any chances. The move paid off as Mo turned Mauer's bat into splinters and retired him on a groundout to first.
Then in the top of the ninth the Yankees bats gave Mo all the insurance he'd need. Three Twins relievers walked the bases loaded with one out, and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was forced to bring in Yankees whipping post, Joe Nathan. RBI singles by Posada and Robinson Cano made it 4-1 Yanks before Nathan struck out Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera to end the inning.
Three outs to go with a three-run lead and Mo on the mound? It was over. He did allow a leadoff bloop single to Cuddyer, but then struck out Kubel and Young, and got Harris to ground to Jeter to close out the game, the series, and the Metrodome.
For the first time since 2004 the Yankees advanced to the ALCS where they will take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who finished off their sweep of the Red Sox earlier in the day. With the ALCS not starting until Friday the players and fans can savor this victory for a little while, before what will be a very tough series against the Angels. CC Sabathia will face off against John Lackey in the opener at Yankee Stadium.
Speaking of savoring the victory, here are some pics of the postgame celebrations via Kathy Willens and Charlie Neibergall of the AP, and Jonathan Daniel, Eric Miller and Andy King of Reuters... On the field:
Pettitte, who had a perfect game through four, blinked first when he allowed a run in the bottom of the sixth, briefly giving the Twins a 1-0 lead. With two out Denard Span singled and stole second. That was followed by a walk to Orlando Cabrera to put runners on first and second for Joe Mauer. Mauer didn't waste any time, smacking Andy's first offering into left for an opposite field RBI single. Pettitte would settle down and struck out Michael Cuddyer to end the inning.
As we learned over the first two games of this series and the seven meetings in the regular season, no Twins' lead is safe against the Yanks, and they wasted no time erasing the 1-0 deficit tonight. After Mark Teixeira led off the inning with a ground out it was time for some more October magic from Alex Rodriguez. It was another terrific at-bat for Alex, who worked the count full after falling behind 0-2. He launched Pavano's seventh pitch of the at-bat 400+ feet the other way over the baggy, and the game was tied. Two batters later the Yanks took the lead for good when Jorge Posada golfed a sinker at the knees just over the wall in left for another solo homer. I still don't know how he hit that pitch that far to the opposite field.
Pavano would complete the inning to finish off what really was a great game for the former Yankee punch line. In seven innings, he allowed two runs on five hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out nine.
Pettitte stayed in to start the seventh to face the left-handed Jason Kubel, and struck him out before Joe Girardi went to the pen. It was vintage Pettitte, as he allowing just one run on three hits, walking one, and striking out seven in 6.1 innings. With the performance Pettitte now had 15 postseason wins, tying him with John Smoltz for the all-time mark. He only threw 81 pitches on the night, and probably could have remained in the game, but with a one-run lead Girardi wasn't going to take any chances.
Joba Chamberlain replaced Pettitte in the seventh and allowed a one out double to Delmon Young, putting the tying run in scoring position. If you were starting to get a little nervous at this point, don't worry, you were not alone. But Joba settled down and got Brendan Harris to ground out to third for the second out, and then finished off his outing by striking out Jose Morales on a nasty slider for out number three.
After the Yanks went down quietly in the top of the eighth, Phil Hughes came on in the bottom half of the inning. Hughes, who hasn't been that great so far this postseason, allowed a leadoff double to Nick Punto, and once again the Twins had the tying run in scoring position, this time with nobody out. Then came another one of those plays by Derek Jeter that won't show up in a box score, but completely changed the game.
Span hit a chopper up the middle, Jeter ranged to his left and got to the ball, but with Span's speed he had no play at first. Punto, so pumped up about scoring, missed the stop sign at third and continued on his way to home. Jeter saw it (of course) and fired to the plate. Punto who was about a third of the way towards home, finally realized what was going on and tried to get back to third, but thanks to a perfect throw by Posada he was too late. A-Rod placed the tag well before Punto could reach third and all the air in the building was let out at once. Any chance the Twins had at winning this game died on that play.
Hughes then retired Cabrera on a fly out to center for the second out before giving way to the great Mariano Rivera. Had a weaker hitter been up Hughes probably stays in the game, but with Mauer coming up, once again Girardi wasn't taking any chances. The move paid off as Mo turned Mauer's bat into splinters and retired him on a groundout to first.
Then in the top of the ninth the Yankees bats gave Mo all the insurance he'd need. Three Twins relievers walked the bases loaded with one out, and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire was forced to bring in Yankees whipping post, Joe Nathan. RBI singles by Posada and Robinson Cano made it 4-1 Yanks before Nathan struck out Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera to end the inning.
Three outs to go with a three-run lead and Mo on the mound? It was over. He did allow a leadoff bloop single to Cuddyer, but then struck out Kubel and Young, and got Harris to ground to Jeter to close out the game, the series, and the Metrodome.
For the first time since 2004 the Yankees advanced to the ALCS where they will take on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who finished off their sweep of the Red Sox earlier in the day. With the ALCS not starting until Friday the players and fans can savor this victory for a little while, before what will be a very tough series against the Angels. CC Sabathia will face off against John Lackey in the opener at Yankee Stadium.
Speaking of savoring the victory, here are some pics of the postgame celebrations via Kathy Willens and Charlie Neibergall of the AP, and Jonathan Daniel, Eric Miller and Andy King of Reuters... On the field:
... And in the clubhouse:
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG | |
| Jeter, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .400 |
| Damon, LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | .083 |
| Gardner, CF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .167 |
| Rodriguez, A, 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .455 |
| Matsui, H, DH | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .222 |
| 1-Hairston, J, PR-DH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Posada, C | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .364 |
| Cano, 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .167 |
| Swisher, RF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .083 |
| Cabrera, Me, CF-LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .167 |
| Totals | 33 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 10 | |
1-Ran for Matsui, H in the 9th. | ||||||||
BATTING 2B: Jeter (2, Pavano). HR: Rodriguez, A (2, 7th inning off Pavano, 0 on, 1 out), Posada (1, 7th inning off Pavano, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Jeter 2; Rodriguez, A 4; Matsui, H; Posada 5; Cano; Cabrera, Me. RBI: Rodriguez, A (6), Posada 2 (2), Cano (1). 2-out RBI: Posada. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Damon; Cabrera, Me 2. GIDP: Cano. Team RISP: 2-for-5. Team LOB: 5. FIELDING Outfield assists: Swisher (Cuddyer at 2nd base). | ||||||||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
| Pettitte (W, 1-0) | 6.1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1.42 |
| Chamberlain (H, 1) | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Hughes, P (H, 2) | 0.2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 |
| Rivera, Ma (S, 1) | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 |
Pitches-strikes: Pettitte 81-58, Chamberlain 17-12, Hughes, P 14-9, Rivera, Ma 18-12.
TWINS STATS
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Andy Pettitte (W, 6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K)
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Jorge Posada (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R) & Alex Rodriguez (1-for-3, HR, RBI, BB, 2 R)
ALCS Game 1
(Friday)
Yankees vs. Angels
Game Time: TBD | TV/Radio: FOX, WCBS
LHP CC Sabathia (1-0, 1.35 ) vs. RHP John Lackey (1-0, 0.00)
(Friday)
Yankees vs. Angels
Game Time: TBD | TV/Radio: FOX, WCBS
LHP CC Sabathia (1-0, 1.35 ) vs. RHP John Lackey (1-0, 0.00)
