NEW YORK 10, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, May 12.

Batting stars:  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer, his second.  Jay Canizaro was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Cristian Guzman was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Tony Fiore pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Jorge Posada was 4-for-5 with a home run (his fourth) and two doubles.  Jason Giambi was 3-for-5 with a home run (his seventh) and three RBIs.  Robin Ventura was 2-for-5 with a home run, his ninth.

The game:  It was a good game for four innings.  Bernie Williams singled home a run in the first to put the Yankees up 1-0.  Posada and Ventura hit back-to-back two-out homers in the fourth to make it 3-0.  The Twins had threatened in the first, putting men on first and third with two out, and again in the third on Canizaro's lead-off double, but each time Mike Mussina turned the threat aside.  New York broke it open in the fifth, getting solo homers by Nick Johnson and Derek Jeter and a two-run shot by Giambi.  It was 7-0 and Minnesota was never in the game again.  Casey Blake singled home a run in the seventh and LeCroy hit a three-run homer in the eighth, but all that did was cut the lead to 9-4.

WP:  Mussina (5-2).  LP:  Rick Reed (4-2).  S:  None.

Note:  LeCroy was again at DH and raised his average to .322...Brian Buchanan was back in right field and went 0-for-4.  He was in a 2-for-19 stretch...Blake was again at third base and was 1-for-4...Canizaro was the second baseman...Reed struck out six in 4.2 innings, but allowed five runs on seven hits and no walks.  He gave up four home runs--maybe he should've walked a few people...The Twins were swept by the Yankees, a trend that would continue throughout Ron Gardenhire's tenure as manager...I assume most people remember Mussina's dominance of the Twins.  For his career against Minnesota (33 starts), he was 22-6, 3.09, 1.17 WHIP, 186 strikeouts in 230.1 innings.  That's pretty much a Cy Young season.  The only team against whom he registered more wins was Toronto (25 in 44 starts).  There was no American League team against whom he had a higher winning percentage.

Record:  The Twins were 22-16, still in first place by a game over Chicago, which had been losing to Anaheim.