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| Rematch between the Yanks and Twins in the ALDS |
The Yankees and Twins didn't get a look at each other until mid-August, when New York carried a 13-game, regular-season winning streak to Minnesota. But the Twins snapped it in a hurry—winning the first two games of the series at the Metrodome in convincing fashion. New York was, however, able to pull out a dramatic win to salvage the series finale, defeating Twins closer Joe Nathan.
When the two teams met again in September at the Stadium, the Yankees swept all three games. However, the Twins rested several regulars during that series and limited their starting pitchers to only five innings.
Both teams clinched their division titles, with the Twins closing their regular season with a record of 92-70 as the Yanks eclipsed the 100-win mark for the eighteenth time in their existence (101-61). After last year’s loss to the Florida Marlins in the World Series, the Yanks hope to return to the World Series for a chance to win their 27th World Championship.
Yankees' Featured Players
New York Yankee right-hander Mike Mussina has lost to the Twins just four times in his 14-year career. Mussina, who spent most of July and August on the disabled list because of elbow stiffness, pitched at least six innings in his last seven starts and posted a 2.14 ERA during September, while finishing the year with a 12-9 record and a 4.59 ERA.
Right-fielder Gary Sheffield has had an MVP-caliber season, as he is ranked third in the American League for runs scored (117), second in walks (92), and has hit 36 home runs, 121 runs batted in, and posted a .290 batting average. During the season, Sheffield had four ninth-inning home runs that either won or tied a game, as he has a chance to be the Yankees' first AL MVP candidate since Don Mattingly in 1985. In six games against the Twins this year, Sheffield has eight RBI including a two home-run game at the Metrodome in the Yankees 13-10 victory on August 19th.
Twins' Featured Players
All-Star pitcher Johan Santana has taken over as the team’s ace and has been instrumental in leading the Twins to their third consecutive Playoff appearance. Santana compiled a 20-6 record—going 13-0 with a 1.21 ERA since the All-Star break—and led the AL with 265 strikeouts and an impressive 2.61 ERA for the season.
Joe Nathan, acquired in the offseason from San Francisco, has done an excellent job replacing Eddie Guardado as the Twins' closer. Nathan ranked third in the AL with 44 saves and led all American League closers with a 1.62 ERA this season.
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| REGULAR SEASON TEAM STATS (MLB Rank) |
| YANKEES |
vs. |
Twins |
| .268 |
BA |
.266 |
| 897 |
R |
780 |
| 1483 |
H |
1494 |
| 242 |
HR |
191 |
| 683 |
RBI |
735 |
| .454 |
SLG |
.431 |
| Pitching Statistics |
| 4.69 |
ERA |
4.03 |
| 59 |
Saves |
48 |
| 1058 |
K |
1123 |
| THE 2003 DIVISIONAL SERIES vs. MINNESOTA TWINS |
| Game |
Team |
Score |
Pitcher |
| Game 1 - Home |
Yankees |
0 |
Mussina (12-9, 4.59 ERA)
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| Tue. 10/5-8:00pm |
Twins |
3 |
Santana ( 20-6, 2.61 ERA) |
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| Game 2 - Home |
Yankees |
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Lieber (14-8, 4.33 ERA) |
| Wed. 10/6-7:00pm |
Twins |
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Radke (11-8, 3.48 ERA) |
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| Game 3 - Away |
Yankees |
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Brown (10-6, 4.09 ERA) |
| Sat. 10/8-8:00pm |
Twins |
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Silva (14-8, 4.21 ERA) |
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| Game 4 - Away |
Yankees |
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| Sat. 10/9 |
Twins |
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Game 1 - Yanks Fall in Game One
The Minnesota Twins don't beat their opponents with great offensive performances, they win division titles with excellent pitching and defense. For those two reasons, Minnesota grabbed a Game One victory on Tuesday, October 6th, by a score of 2-0 over the New York Yankees in their American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium.
Twins pitcher Johan Santana allowed no runs on nine hits, which was the second-most number of hits he has allowed all season. However, the Twins defense held up behind him with five double plays and a great catch from centerfielder Torii Hunter to quiet the home crowd in first of this best-of-five series. The only two runs of the game came off an RBI single by Shannon Stewart in the third inning and a Jacque Jones home run in the sixth inning. Both runs were charged to Yankee pitcher Mike Mussina.
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Game 2 -
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Game 3 -
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Game 4 -
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Last Updated On: Friday, October 10, 2003
GO YANKS!!
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