Major League Baseball
AL playoffs: Yankees a win from ALCS

By Dave Campbell
The Associated Press

JED JACOBSOHN / GETTY IMAGES If Alex Rodriguez and the Yankees win today, they'll face the Boston Red Sox starting Tuesday.

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MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Brown shrugged off back pain and put his broken hand behind him. Now the New York Yankees have another pitcher they can count on this postseason, something they desperately needed.

Backed by Derek Jeter's three runs batted in and a relentless offense, Brown threw six strong innings to lead the Yankees past the frustrated Minnesota Twins 8-4 last night for a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five American League first-round series.

"As long as you can keep them from scoring, you know you've done your job for the team," said Brown, who broke his non-throwing hand last month when he punched a clubhouse wall in frustration.

Hoping to save Minnesota's season, ace Johan Santana will start on three days' rest today against Javier Vazquez. The Yankees, who rallied in the 12th inning to win Game 2 after Torii Hunter's homer put them on the ropes, can eliminate the Twins in four games for the second consecutive year.

Jeter went 3 for 5, and Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams homered for New York — just one win away from a bitter rematch with the rival Boston Red Sox in the AL Championship Series.

"I don't care about Boston right now," Jeter said. "We've still got Minnesota to worry about."

If the Twins win today, Game 5 is back in the Bronx tomorrow.

"We're packing our suitcases," said Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire, who came into the clubhouse and told his players to crank up the boombox.

Gardenhire's confidence appeared to help the Twins stay positive.
 
"We've been in worse situations," Jacque Jones said. "Nobody's down. We got the music on, guys are ready to go."

Williams extended a major-league record by hitting his 20th postseason homer, a two-run shot off Carlos Silva that put the Yankees up 5-1 in the sixth.

That was plenty for Brown, whose first season in New York has been tainted by his ailing back and that embarrassing tantrum during a loss to Baltimore on Sept. 3.

The Yankees were angry about his outburst, but he cleared the air by apologizing a few days later. And because of his intensity and experience, Brown's teammates were plenty confident yesterday.

"I think most of the guys understood where the frustration was coming from," Brown said, "and that it was not something that I did because I didn't care about the team. Quite the opposite."

Against 23 batters, Brown threw 22 balls and didn't walk anyone. A first-inning home run by Jones was the only one of eight hits allowed that did any damage.

"We'll need him down the road, and hopefully we can get what we got tonight," Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said.