American LeagueA big home run by Ruben Sierra, a clutch 11th-inning hit by Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees are headed right back where most people figured -- playing the Boston Red Sox for the American League pennant.
"This is what everybody drew up in spring training and now everybody gets to see what it's all about," Yankees star Gary Sheffield said. "When Schilling went to the Red Sox and when A-Rod came here, that's what everybody wanted to see."
Sierra's three-run homer in the eighth inning tied it. Rodriguez doubled, alertly stole third base and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by Kyle Lohse to lift the Yankees over the Minnesota Twins 6-5 on Saturday.
"What makes you a complete player and a winning player is being asked to the little things," Rodriguez said. "You can't play big ball all the time."
With this 3-1 win in the first-round playoff series, New York returned to Yankee Stadium -- where the AL championship series opens Tuesday. Curt Schilling is likely to start for the Red Sox against Mike Mussina, both on ample rest.
The Twins led 5-1 behind ace Johan Santana before another New York rally. The Yankees came from behind for all three wins in this series after setting a major league record with 61 comeback victories during the regular season. Nine of those were from deficits of four runs or more.
For the second straight year, New York handed Minnesota a first-round playoff elimination in four games and advanced to the AL championship series to face Boston.
The Yankees won that matchup with Red Sox last October on Aaron Boone's homer in the 11th inning of Game 7. Boston was 11-8 against the Yankees this year.
Winning pitcher Mariano Rivera, who blew a rare postseason save chance in the eighth inning of Game 2, retired all six batters he faced to finish a stifling performance by the Yankees bullpen. After Javier Vazquez allowed five runs in five innings, Esteban Loaiza and Tom Gordon each threw two scoreless innings.
Lohse pitched a perfect 10th and started the 11th by handing Derek Jeter his fourth strikeout of the afternoon, but Rodriguez laced a double down the left-field line and stole third base on unsuspecting catcher Pat Borders -- who didn't throw.
Then Lohse bounced a pitch to Sheffield that skipped past Borders, allowing Rodriguez to race home with the winning run.
That wild pitch silenced the Metrodome, where fans thought their AL Central champions would do better this year against the AL East winners. The Twins were on the verge of a two games-to-none lead Wednesday night when closer Joe Nathan failed to hold a one-run lead in the 12th inning.
The three-time champion Twins missed several chances to score in this game and head into another winter unsure how many players they'll be able to afford next year.
National League
Carlos Beltran hit a two-run homer and Brandon Backe pitched six solid innings in his postseason debut to lead Houston to its 19th straight home win, over Atlanta for a 2-1 lead in their National League series.
Hoping to clinch the Astros' first playoff series win in club history, Roger Clemens will pitch on three days' rest for the first time this season Sunday. The Rocket, winner of his last four postseason decisions, will oppose the Braves' Russ Ortiz in the best-of-five matchup.
Houston has a humiliating history of October failure, having lost seven series overall and falling to Atlanta in the first round in 1997, 1999 and 2001. But with help from new guys like Beltran and Backe, and timely contributions from Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Lance Berkman, the wild-card Astros are close to advancing.
Even after the Braves pulled off an improbable rally in Game 2 for a 4-2 victory in 11 innings, the Astros were feeling good for having earned a split at Turner Field and stealing homefield advantage.
The Braves got off to a bad start at Minute Maid Park. Starter John Thomson threw only four pitches before leaving after reaggravating a muscle pull in his side that forced him out of the final game of the regular season.
Thomson was replaced by Paul Byrd, who took the loss after giving up four runs on four hits in 4 1-3 innings.
The return home did wonders for the Astros, who didn't have a hit over the final 5 1-3 innings and finished with only four in Game 2 on Thursday.
Beltran went 2-for-5 after going hitless in five at-bats in Game 2, Morgan Ensberg had three RBIs and Berkman, Jeff Kent and Mike Lamb each drove in a run.
Brad Lidge got the final three outs for the save. He recovered nicely from a blown save in Game 2, when he pitched a season-high 2 2-3 innings.
Andruw Jones hit a three-run homer in the eighth for the Braves, and Johnny Estrada also connected.
Dodgers 4, Cardinals 0
In Los Angeles, Jose Lima and Shawn Green had big nights, giving Los Angeles its first postseason win in 16 years and staving off elimination in their first-round series against St. Louis.
Lima followed two miserable outings by Los Angeles starters with a five-hitter, Green hit a pair of solo homers and the Dodgers beat St. Louis 4-0 to cut the Cardinals' lead in the best-of-five NL division series to 2-1.
Working against one of the most formidable lineups in baseball, the animated Lima pitched his first complete game since 2001, striking out four and walking one. It was the second shutout of his career.
After he retired the Cardinals in the eighth, the crowd of 55,992 -- largest at Dodger Stadium since Game 2 of the 1988 World Series -- chanted, "Lima, Lima, Lima." The 32-year-old right-hander came out of the dugout to take a curtain call.
Odalis Perez, rocked for six runs in 2 2-3 innings in Tuesday's opener, starts tonight for the Dodgers against Jeff Suppan, trying to force a fifth and deciding game the following night in St. Louis. No NL team has won the division series after falling behind 0-2 since the expanded playoffs began in 1995. Los Angeles had lost eight postseason games in a row since beating Oakland in the 1988 World Series.
Lima pumped his fist, shouted and pointed at teammates in celebration and practically danced off the field after setting the Cardinals down inning after inning. St. Louis led the NL in batting with a .278 average and runs scored with 855.
Green hit solo homers off losing pitcher Matt Morris in the fourth and sixth to give Los Angeles a 4-0 lead, with both sending the crowd into a frenzy.
The Dodgers, unable to get the clutch hit in the first two games, got one in the third when Steve Finley hit a two-out, two-run double.
Los Angeles got a big break earlier in the inning. Alex Cora was hit by a pitch and went to third on Brent Mayne's single. It appeared Lima's bunt bounced up and hit his bat as he left the batter's box, meaning it should have been ruled a foul ball or he should have been called out. Cardinals catcher Mike Matheny threw to second, but Mayne was safe, leaving the bases loaded.
Morris retired the next two batters before Finley came through, slicing a broken-bat double inside third.
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