BY Mark Feinsand DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER MINNEAPOLIS - It took a few innings for the Yankees to shake off their September slumber, but once they did, they did what they've been doing for years. They beat the Twins. The Bombers climbed out of an early hole for a 6-4 win over the Twins in Game 1 of the American League Division Series, stealing home-field advantage away from Minnesota in the best-of-five series. Mark Teixeira's two-run home run off Jesse Crain in the seventh proved to be the game-winner, Teixeira's second game-winning playoff homer against the Twins in two years. The Yankees erased a three-run deficit with a four-run sixth against starter Francisco Liriano, as Curtis Granderson delivered the big blow with a two-run triple. CC Sabathia wasn't sharp on seven days' rest, but the big lefthander picked up the win after allowing four runs (three earned) in six innings. Mariano Rivera recorded the 40th postseason save of his career, recording the final four outs to close out the victory. Andy Pettitte takes the mound tonight against former Yankee bust Carl Pavano, looking to give the Bombers a commanding 2-0 lead when the series shifts back to the Bronx this weekend. Liriano flirted with danger early, putting two runners on base in both the second and third inning. Granderson grounded out to end the second, while Nick Swisher, Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez wasted a golden opportunity in the third, coming up short after Brett Gardner and Derek Jeter reached base to open the third. The Twins struck first, taking a lead in the second on Michael Cuddyer's two-run laser to center, one of the few balls this season to clear the wall in that part of the ballpark. Orlando Hudson stole a run for the Twins in the third, using his legs, his head and a misplay by Jorge Posada to boost Minnesota's lead. After reaching on a leadoff single, Hudson moved to second on Joe Mauer's groundout to first. Teixeira had to dive for the bag to beat Mauer for the out, allowing Hudson to take off for third, making it easily without a throw by Teixeira. With Delmon Young at the plate, Sabathia fired a fastball for strike one, but it glanced off the heel of Posada's glove, the passed ball allowing Hudson to score the Twins' third run. Liriano settled into a groove, retiring the Yankees in order in the fourth and fifth, but the Bombers went to work against the lefty in the sixth. Teixeira doubled with one out, then A-Rod walked, setting up Robinson Cano's RBI single that put the Yankees on the board,. Liriano fanned Marcus Thames for the second out, but Posada made up for his passed ball with an RBI single, cutting the lead to 3-2. With Liriano at 102 pitches and fresh lefty Jose Mijares ready in the bullpen, Ron Gardenhire gave his starter a chance to get out of the jam himself. Granderson made him pay for that decision, lifting a fly ball off the high wall in right-center, scoring Cano and Posada to give the Yankees their first lead of the night. Sabathia got two quick outs in the bottom of the sixth, but after going 5 2/3 innings without issuing a walk, he inexplicably lost control of the strike zone, walking two of the next three batters while giving up a double by Cuddyer in between. With the bases loaded and two out, Joe Girardi left Sabathia in the game to face rookie Danny Valencia, who had struck out in each of his first two at-bats. Sabathia walked him on four pitches, forcing in the tying run. Sabathia got the final out of the sixth, but the crowd of 42,032 - the largest in Target Field history - was energized after the Twins tied the game. Teixeira took care of that with one swing, lifting a high fly ball down the right field line that found its way inside the foul pole for a two-run homer off Crain. With a 6-4 lead, Girardi turned the game over to his trusted bullpen. Boone Logan and Dave Robertson got through the seventh, with Robertson striking out Jim Thome to end the inning with the tying runs on base. Kerry Wood put two runners on in the eighth, so Girardi turned to Rivera to get the final four outs. Rivera retired Denard Span to end the eighth, then threw a scoreless ninth to seal the win. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/b...past_twins_in_game_1_of_al.html#ixzz11e6bt2V5
It was nice to see some resiliency out of us, and great to see Tex hit too, after an awful postseason last year. I was hoping for a better performance out of CC, but he was solid enough and fought out of some tough situations, and the BP was pretty good too. Glad to see Mo get it back going after a rough September.
