Berkman's Bat Puts Yankees in 2-0 Lead

By Justin Worsley

Lance Berkman had two RBIs and Andy Pettitte pitched seven quality innings as the New York Yankees got the best of Carl Pavano and the Minnesota Twins to take a 2-0 Divisional Series lead.

Berkman broke a 1-1 tie with a solo home run in the fifth inning, the seventh postseason homer in his career.

In the seventh inning, Berkman made Pavano regret walking catcher Jorge Posada by launching a double that went over center fielder Denard Span's head.

Pettitte allowed five hits and two earned runs through seven innings. The veteran pitcher threw 88 pitches, striking out four while walking one.

Minnesota got an early lead when rookie third baseman Danny Valencia hit a sacrifice fly to bring in left fielder Delmon Young in the second inning.

The Yankees fought back two innings later, however, after Curtis Granderson hit a double, Alex Rodriguez brought him home on a sacrifice fly.

Orlando Hudson forced another tie for Minnesota when he ended Pettitte's streak of 12 consecutive retired batters, blasting a 73 MPH changeup to left-center.

Twins manager Rod Gardenhire was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing over a called ball with umpire Hunter Wendelstedt. The pitch by Pavano would have struck out Berkman, who instead hit the go-ahead double.

Pavano was pulled from the game two batters later, giving up 10 hits and four earned runs in six innings. The former Yankee also struck out three while walking one.

The final nail in the coffin for Minnesota came in the ninth inning when Granderson took advantage of a stolen base by Bret Gardner. Granderson hit a soft single to center field, bringing in Garderner. For the game, Granderson went three-for-five with an RBI and a run.

The Yankees have been nothing but dominant against the Twins in the last few postseasons. New York is seven-for-21 with runners in scoring position against the Twins dating back to last season.

New York is now in position to sweep Minnesota on Saturday when Phil Hughes (18-8, 4.19 ERA this season) starts the Yankees home opener in the postseason against Brian Duengsing (10-3, 2.62.)