Minnesota gets good pitching, help from misplays in victory

Tuesday's 3-1 victory came during the Twins' first postseason game at Yankee Stadium.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Minnesota Twins are loose heading into Game 2 of their AL playoff series against the Yankees, a stark contrast to Johan Santana, their pitcher in the opener.
Playing their first postseason game in Yankee Stadium, the Twins were guarding a one-run lead in the fifth inning when Santana cramped up.
"One thing you don't do is show panic in the dugout," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "So I just said, 'Well, let's have some fun. We are going to piece it together.' And that's what we did."
Twins get break
An inning later, Torii Hunter circled the bases when his line drive resulted in a pair of misplays that led to two runs, and the Twins finally beat New York, tripping up the stumbling Yankees 3-1 on Tuesday.
New York had stomped on the Twins during the past two seasons, going 13-0 and outscoring them 90-36.
But Minnesota won its seventh straight postseason opener, taking control of the series heading into Thursday's game, when Brad Radke opposes New York's Andy Pettitte.
"It's been a running joke the last couple of days-- we might just as well scrimmage these guys and get them warmed up for the next round, because that's where everybody's putting them," Minnesota's Jacque Jones said.
New York was favored in last year's division series, too, before Anaheim won in four games to end a run of four consecutive AL pennants.
Owner not happy
The Yankees have dropped four straight postseason games for the first time since the 1981 World Series against the Dodgers, not exactly what owner George Steinbrenner was expecting when he set payroll records last winter in an effort to get his team its first Series title since 2000.
After Santana's injury, Rick Reed, J.C. Romero, LaTroy Hawkins and Eddie Guardado combined to allow five hits and one run.
Meanwhile, Bernie Williams failed to cut off Hunter's liner to center and Alfonso Soriano made an error that gave Hunter what's often called a Little League home run.
Williams also flopped flat on his belly rounding first base in the day's comic highlight, and New York's batters went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, getting an RBI infield single from Soriano in the ninth.
"When the game gets sloppy and the ball gets thrown around, that makes it tough," said Mike Mussina, who had been 20-2 against the Twins. "That's what the postseason is, minimizing mistakes. If you make a mistake in the postseason, they tend to be big ones."
Spectacular catch
Despite their troubles, the Yankees threatened to pull off yet another memorable ninth-inning comeback. But a spectacular leaping catch by Shannon Stewart against the left-field wall on a drive by Hideki Matsui helped Guardado limit New York to one run.
Stewart was fighting not only the sun -- it was the first early afternoon postseason game at Yankee Stadium since 1981 -- but aggressive fans who leaned over to try for a grab similar to Jeffrey Maier's in the 1996 playoffs against Baltimore.
"The only thing I was worried about was that with the fans reaching out, he might get poked in the eye," said Jones, the Twins' right fielder.
MINNESOTANEW YORK
abrhbiabrhbi
ShStwrt lf5020ASrano 2b5021
Rivas 2b3001NJhnsn 1b4000
Mntkw 1b4000Jeter ss3020
LeCroy dh3110JaGbi dh4000
JJones rf4010Posada c4000
THnter cf2111BWllms cf4120
Koskie 3b4020Matsui lf3010
Przyns c2000ABoone 3b4020
CGzmn ss4110JRivra rf2000
Sierra rf2000
Totals31382Totals35191
Minnesota001002000--3
New York000000001--1
E--ASoriano (1). DP--Minnesota 1, New York 2. LOB--Minnesota 8, New York 10. 2B--ShStewart (1), Koskie (1), ASoriano (1), ABoone (1). 3B--THunter (1). SB--ASoriano (1). CS--Koskie (1). S--Rivas. SF--Rivas.
IPHRERBBSO
Minnesota
Santana430023
RReed2-310000
Romero1 1-310011
Hawkins W,1-0210004
Guardado S,1131100
New York
Mussina L,0-1773336
Nelson000010
Heredia210011
Romero pitched to 1 batter in the 7th, Nelson pitched to 1 batter in the 8th. WP--Heredia. Umpires--Home, Ed Montague; First, Ted Barrett; Second, Paul Emmel; Third, Gerry Davis; Left, Jim Joyce; Right, Bill Welke. T--3:18. A--56,292.