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Twins-Yankees Preview

Oct 9, 2009 - 1:10 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Minnesota (87-76) at New York (103-59), 6:07 p.m. EDT

It's been 10 years since the New York Yankees won the first two games of a division series. They're looking to go up 2-0 this year with a postseason neophyte on the mound.

A.J. Burnett will make his playoff debut Friday night as the Yankees try to take a commanding lead over the Minnesota Twins in Game 2 of their AL division series.

The Yankees posted a 7-2 victory in the opener Wednesday behind CC Sabathia, who went 6 2-3 innings for the win. They haven't been up 2-0 in the opening round since sweeping Texas en route to winning the 1999 World Series.

New York spent $161 million to sign Sabathia to a seven-year deal and also gave Burnett an $82.5 million, five-year contract this offseason. After going 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA in 33 starts, Burnett is eager to get a taste of the postseason.

"It's been a long time and I finally get the chance," said Burnett, who was a member of the 2003 World Series champion Marlins but was sidelined at the time due to elbow surgery. "So I'm going to go as it as another start and to be a part of last night and to see the crowd and just to see how everybody reacted emotionally throughout the whole game was good to be a part of."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi selected Burnett over veteran Andy Pettitte in part because of Burnett's better home record (5-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 16 starts). The Yankees are 12-4 at home when Burnett pitches.

The decision also had ramifications for the lineup, as light-hitting Jose Molina will take the place of regular catcher Jorge Posada.

That's because Burnett went 5-5 with a 4.96 ERA and .270 opponent batting average in 16 starts with Posada behind the plate. He was 5-2 with a 3.28 ERA and .221 opponent batting average in 11 starts with Molina catching.

Girardi has committed to Hideki Matsui as his designated hitter after Matsui hit a two-run homer in Wednesday's win. That leaves no room for Posada, who helped the Yankees win three straight World Series from 1998-2000.

"I can't do nothing about it," Posada said. "Just sit and watch the ballgame."

While Posada is unhappy about not being in the lineup, Burnett is just trying to focus on his start.

"I'm not surprised because what Jorge is to this organization and what he's done in the post-season," Burnett said. "He's the leader in this clubhouse. He's the leader in the dugout."

Burnett is 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA in six career starts against the Twins, including 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two this season. AL batting champion Joe Mauer is 5 for 13 (.385) against him.

The Twins know they need a good effort from Game 2 starter Nick Blackburn to try to even this series. Rookie Brian Duensing was victimized by the powerful Yankees lineup in the opener, giving up five runs over 4 2-3 innings.

Minnesota fell to 0-8 against New York in 2009.

"That's just a pretty good team," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "I mean, I wish I had all the answers to say 'Wow, this is why we lose here; this is why we don't win.' It's not that simple. We have had our opportunities, we just haven't come up with big hits."

The Twins won Blackburn's last four starts of the regular season, as he posted a 1.65 ERA in that span. He's gained a reputation as a big-game pitcher, allowing one run over 6 1-3 innings in a 1-0 loss to the White Sox last season in a one-game playoff for the AL Central title.

The right-hander, though, is 0-1 with a 5.89 ERA in four career starts against New York. He's had no success against the Yankees' leader in homers and RBIs - Mark Teixeira - who's 6 for 6 with a homer against him.

"I'm not going to change my approach," Blackburn said. "I'm going to try to keep them off balance. I'm going to try to move the ball around and do what I've been doing lately. I'm going to stick to my game plan. That's what's been working for me so far. I don't plan on changing anything for these guys."

The Twins need more from the middle of their lineup after Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel and Delmon Young combined to go 1 for 12 in the opener.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how our ballclub responds (Friday)," Gardenhire said. "Maybe a little more life, a little more energy. We'll see. Yesterday they kind of put it to us a little bit and we didn't respond very well. But we'll see."