Yankees waste no time finishing job

A superb pitchers’ duel broke out between Yankees veteran lefthander Andy Pettitte and Twins righthander Carl Pavano. Although Pettitte blinked first when he allowed a run in the sixth inning, the Yankees again powered their way to victory with solo homers by Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada in the seventh.

But what Minnesotans will remember about the last game at the Metrodome is Nick Punto’s base-running gaffe. The second baseman led off the eighth inning with a double to right-center against reliever Philip Hughes. On Denard Span’s single to short, Punto almost ran through a stop sign by third base coach Scott Ullger and then was thrown out trying to get back to the bag.

The Twins, known for their strong fundamentals, did not exhibit them on the basepaths in this series, with Carlos Gomez getting thrown out in Game 2 after slipping going around second base. This wasn’t Twins baseball, and they proved to be little competition for the Yankees, who earlier in the day watched the Angels’ dramatic comeback over the Red Sox.

After Joe Nathan, who blew the save in Game 2, allowed two runs in the ninth last night, the Twins had their last chance against Mariano Rivera. Michael Cuddyer blooped a single to right to lead off, but Rivera made certain there was no happy ending for the Twins.

With two outs in the sixth, the Twins broke the ice. They started a rally off Pettitte when Span singled up the middle. With Orlando Cabrera at the plate, Span stole second without a throw from Posada. Cabrera then drew a walk to extend the inning. And a big walk it was. It brought up Joe Mauer, who laced a single to left field, scoring Span. Mauer led the league with 81 opposite-field hits, but none was bigger than this.

It was up to Pavano to hold the lead. It didn’t happen.

The red-hot Rodriguez put a nice, easy swing on a 3-and-2 fastball and hit a home run to right field with one out in the seventh to tie the game. Pavano appeared to be showing signs of fatigue after he retired Mark Teixeira on a grounder to third base. He was careful with Rodriguez and went to 3 and 2 before Rodriguez did his thing. After Pavano struck out Hideki Matsui, Posada put the Yankees ahead with a home run to left field on a 1-and-0 fastball.

Nevertheless, Pavano pitched like a man with some pride still left. Did he dog it as a Yankee? Only he can truly answer that question. But he may never be able to live down the four-year, $39.5 million contract he signed with New York, nor will he be able to convince his critics he was truly hurt and had trouble overcoming Tommy John surgery, back issues, and other maladies.

Yet when he was not re-signed by the Yankees and received interest from the Indians, who eventually dealt him to the Twins, Pavano seemed to want to show baseball and perhaps even himself that he could still pitch. In fact, those who know him well feel he’s become a real student of pitching. You could see that with his pitch selection to Yankee batters. He also adapted to home plate umpire Mark Wegner’s high strike zone, whiffing a surprised Teixeira on a high fastball down the middle of the plate in the fourth.

He struck out Johnny Damon in his first three at-bats. He fanned Rodriguez and Matsui in the second inning. He got Damon and Teixeira in the fourth. Six strikeouts through four, eight through six.

But as well as Pavano threw, former teammate Pettitte matched him, and that’s not what the Twins needed down, 2-0, in the series.

Pettitte pitched to the minimum 12 batters, with five strikeouts, through four. Cuddyer greeted him with a leadoff single to left in the fifth. Jason Kubel’s scorching grounder got past Robinson Cano at second base, but Cuddyer, who had to hold up not knowing whether Cano could snare the low liner, was forced at second by right fielder Nick Swisher, and Pettitte got the next two outs.

Pettitte, who went 14-8 with a 4.16 ERA during the regular season, was making his 36th postseason start. By making it through the first inning, he became the all-time leader in postseason innings, breaking a tie with Tom Glavine at 218 1/3. Before last night, he was winless in his last four postseason starts. He was also 3-2 with a 4.47 ERA in series-clinching games.

There were a lot of bad swings early from both lineups, but the first extra-base hit came from Derek Jeter, who lined a two-out double down the right-field line in the sixth. But with the pressure on, Pavano froze Damon with a slider at the knees for the third out of the inning.