>Pettitte supplies pitching, A-Rod, Posada the power in win

Fielding the Yankees’ Game 3, 4-1 win over the Twins on a short hop …

In less then 25 words …
Andy Pettitte tossed 6 1/3 dominant innings, and was backed by Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada to complete the American League Division Series sweep.

Frozen moment
With a one-run lead in the eighth inning, Derek Jeter made a heads-up play to erase a leadoff double from Nick Punto. With no play at first on Denard Span’s single up the middle, Jeter threw home to Posada, who relayed the throw to Rodriguez at third base to pick off Punto, who was scrambling back to the bag.

Big number
2: Solo homers for the Yankees in the seventh inning. Rodriguez went deep on the eighth pitch of his at-bat, and one batter later, Posada followed with a blast to left field to give New York the lead for good.

Game balls
Andy Pettitte

Other than an RBI single that he allowed to Joe Mauer, Pettitte was lights-out over his 6 1/3 innings. The veteran lefty struck out seven and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth.

Alex Rodriguez

Rodriguez continued to exorcise his postseason demons with a game-tying solo homer. He went 3-for-4 with three RBIs with runners in scoring position in the series.

Derek Jeter

The Yankees’ captain made a game-changing defensive play to save a run in the eighth inning and connected for a two-out double in the sixth.

Sense of October
Back at the Metrodome with an 0-2 deficit, the Twins’ home confines was packed with a crowd of 54,735 waving white “Homer Hankies” to try to help Minnesota extend the series. Sunday’s loss marked the final baseball game played at the Metrodome.

Lines of the Game
Hitting
Jorge Posada
4 AB, 2 H, 1 HR, 1 R, 2 RBI
Comment: The veteran catcher homered in the seventh inning and laced an RBI single into right field in the ninth to pad the lead.

Pitching
Joba Chamberlain
2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Comment: Chamberlain pitched around a one-out double to keep the Twins from evening the score in the seventh inning.

Spoken
“People can say whatever they want about home runs and big hits. I mean, if you don’t pitch and you don’t defend, you are not going to win. The story of this [ALDS] has been CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte.” — Rodriguez

Next step
The Yankees will travel back home to New York and prepare for their next opponent, the Angels, for a best-of-seven AL Championship Series that starts on Friday.

~Short Hops

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