Pettitte is masterful as Yankees tie up Twins

By Peter May, Globe Staff, 10/3/2003

NEW YORK -- All is well -- for now -- in Yankee Land. Andy Pettitte pitched another huge game. The offense awoke in the seventh inning with what passes for a vengeance these days. And the Yankees evened their American League Division Series with the Minnesota Twins with a 4-1 victory last night before 56,479 grateful, if occasionally nervous and hostile, patrons.

The Yankees rode Pettitte's brilliant pitching and an it's-about-time three-run eruption in the seventh to break a 1-1 tie and send the crowd and players home in much better spirits than after Game 1, a disheartening, dispiriting, sky-is-falling, Boss-is-fuming 3-1 loss. The next two games will be played in the climate-controlled Metrodome in Minneapolis, where the Twins play pinball baseball with maddening success.

Pettitte pitched seven innings (111

pitches) before giving way to Mariano Rivera. The quiet Texan fanned 10, a personal postseason best, and allowed only four hits, the most costly being a fifth inning homer by Torii Hunter. Once again, he gave New York exactly what it needed. In his last 21 starts, he is 17-2 with two no-decisions. It was his 11th postseason win, third highest in history. "He's having a pretty good year," offered Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "He had good stuff. He was hitting his spots and never gave us the same look. He was tough."

Agreed Joe Torre, the Yankee skipper, "I don't think I can trust anyone more than I can trust Andy."

The Yankee offense, meanwhile, mostly dormant in Game 1, was similarly silent through the first six innings last night. Twins starter Brad Radke survived a shaky first, allowing one run, and then was basically untouchable until plunking Nick Johnson on a 1-2 pitch to open the seventh. At that point, Gardenhire went to reliever LaTroy Hawkins, who had won Game 1, even though Radke had thrown only 98 pitches.

"I didn't think we could allow them to score another run," Gardenhire said, explaining his decision to go to the usually reliable bullpen. "That's why I went to Hawkins. Radke was pitching a great game. But Hawkins has been my hottest pitcher."

Hawkins wasn't hot for very long. He promptly got behind Alfonso Soriano, and Soriano spanked a single to left. That scored Johnson, who had moved to second on a sacrifice by Juan Rivera. Then Derek Jeter bounced a chopper to the mound and Hawkins proceeded to airmail it off the glove of Doug Mientkiewicz and into the box seats along first base.

That put runners on second and third and Jason Giambi at the plate. Giambi had gone hitless in Game 1 and had whiffed in the fifth with runners on first and second, eliciting a chorus of boos. Torre had been trying to calm and comfort the struggling lefthander, but he knew nothing he could say could work as well as a much-needed hit. And that's what Giambi produced, a grounder up the middle that scored Soriano and Jeter, making it 4-1.

"I went from zero to hero pretty quick," Giambi said. "That's what's great about this game."

The Giambi hit allowed Torre the luxury to go with Rivera for the final six outs. Torre had misgivings about removing Pettitte, who, the manager insisted, did not want to come out. "But the only guy I could replace him with was Mariano. That shows the courage he had," Torre said.

Rivera mopped up without incident, and Frank Sinatra's voice was soon spreading the good news to those who remained.

The Yankees had opened the first inning with three straight hits, loading the bases against Radke. Bernie Williams then hit a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Soriano, who had three hits. But Radke avoided further damage by punching out Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui.

"In that first inning, we had him on the ropes," Torre said. "But we let him off."

Radke retired 14 of the next 15 batters and kept the Yankees off the scoreboard. Pettitte did the same until the fifth, when Hunter led off with a rocket to left-center off a 1-1 delivery. It was Hunter's first career postseason home run (12 games) and it tied the game, perked up the Twins, and ticked off the fans. Minnesota got runners at the corners later in the inning, but couldn't capitalize, and also failed in the sixth with two men on. The Twins wouldn't get such opportunities again. Pettitte worked an uneventful seventh and Rivera then came on and retired all six batters he faced. Just like the glory days -- a period that the Yankees desperately are trying to revive.