YANKEES 4, TWINS 1: New York breaks open pitchers' duel with a 3-run seventh.
By MARC TOPKIN
Published October 3, 2003
NEW YORK - The Yankees have laughed all season long at their skeptics and critics, insisting they indeed were championship quality and would prove it when they had to.
Thursday was a pretty good time to start.
Staring at the equally unsettling prospects of going to Minnesota down two games to none in a best-of-five series and facing the unbridled wrath of owner George Steinbrenner, the Yankees responded Thursday with a 4-1 win over the Twins.
"Obviously, it's big," pitcher Andy Pettitte said. "This was a good win for us tonight. During the game I could see how badly the team wanted it. ... The team showed a lot of heart tonight I really think."
The Yankees turned a pitchers' duel between Minnesota's Brad Radke and Pettitte into a relatively easy AL Division Series victory by taking advantage of uncharacteristic Twins mistakes and getting some clutch seventh-inning hits from two much-maligned players, Alfonso Soriano and Jason Giambi.
"I guess I went from zero to hero real quick," Giambi said.
If their words didn't show how important the game was, manager Joe Torre's actions did as he skipped over his undependable middle relief crew and went straight to closer Mariano Rivera for a two-inning save.
"One-one is a lot better than 0-2," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "This was a big game for us."
The score was tied at 1 into the seventh. Radke, the quiet Tampa Jesuit product and Largo resident, recovered from a shaky beginning to make another quality postseason start. Pettitte, a potential free agent who could have made his last appearance as a Yankee, added another line to his impressive postseason resume, striking out a career-best 10.
The game changed in the home seventh, thrilling the boisterous Yankee Stadium crowd of 56,479 on a night that went from chilly to cold.
After waiting through a long break that included a stirring rendition of God Bless America, Radke hit leadoff man Nick Johnson, who moved to second on a bunt. Soriano, whose offensive and defensive play have been disappointing throughout the second half, singled sharply to left off usually dominating reliever LaTroy Hawkins to put the Yankees ahead.
Hawkins made it worse when he fielded Jeter's chopper and threw high to first, the two-base error putting men on second and third with one out.
"You realize how tough they are," Torre said. "They don't give anything. They did tonight."
Giambi has been struggling for months, and hearing about it from the New York media and fans. The Twins were so unimpressed they pitched to Giambi with first base open.
Giambi responded by lining a single up the middle, scoring two runs and, at least temporarily, quieting the critics. "That was huge," Jeter said. "The thing is, the fans boo because they want to cheer. They want him to do well. That was a huge hit for him."
There was enough concern about Giambi that Torre talked to him before the game about not trying to do too much. Reggie Jackson talked to him. Giambi's father talked to him.
But it may have been teammate David Wells, who was named to pitch Game 4 on Sunday, who was the most help to the designated hitter.
"David Wells came in and gave me a few magazines to read to help me relax between at-bats," Giambi said. "I'll let David tell you what kind of magazines they were."
Pettitte continued to write his own impressive story, even if it may be a farewell, allowing only a fifth-inning homer to Torii Hunter.
"(Wednesday) I didn't feel like it was that big of a game," Pettitte said. "But when I stepped out on the mound, I guess it was just something about a night game at Yankee Stadium, almost like it just comes alive. ... I usually don't get too emotional, but I was pretty emotional out there tonight. It was a fun game."
Radke doesn't like the pomp of the big games, but he digs the circumstance. He gave up three singles to start the game, though only one was hit hard, and allowed a run on a sacrifice fly. But he struck out Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui to end the inning and allowed only two hits, and the one costly hit batter, before leaving in the seventh. There wasn't much more he could do.
The Twins were disappointed they didn't win a game they had a chance to, but not that unhappy with a split and the next two games in the quirky Metrodome.
"It's tough to get two here," Radke said. "We want to win it at home. We don't want to come back here for Game 5."
