"You're going to say we're not swinging good but good pitching does that to hitters," Gardenhire said. "We've got a young bunch of hitters but man (the Yankees) pitched."

After giving up one hit and retiring nine of 10 batters in three innings, Santana collapsed in the fourth. Gardenhire didn't think Santana was affected by the leg cramps that forced him to leave Game 1 early.

"Johan was throwing the ball like he normally does," Gardenhire said. "He just made some pitches out and over the plate. Unfortunately, they were able to bang them today."

The loss overshadowed a 3-for-4 performance by Hunter, who is hitting .353 in his division series career, and the outfield play of Shannon Stewart, who made two leaping catches in left.

Stewart robbed Derek Jeter of a home run in the sixth. He backhanded Johnson's line shot in the eighth, pivoted and fired to second, doubling up Juan Rivera.

"I told our guys to keep their heads up," Gardenhire said. "There were only four teams left in the American League and we were one of them. We played our hearts out. We got after it as best we could.

Torii Hunter slid safely into second base after tagging up on a fly ball by in the second inning. The Twins 8-1 loss to the New York Yankees ended their season Sunday night at the Metrodome.

Yankees manager Joe Torre was impressed with the Twins and has a great deal of respect for Gardenhire, who played for him when Torre managed the Mets.

"I remember seeing that tirade Gardy had after a game or a number of games where they responded to him," Torre said. "They're a feisty ballclub. I know we've had a lot success with them over the last couple years but you can't let your guard down against them because they keep coming at you. They fight and fight and fight.

"Gardy has done a great job with them. Each and every one of them are respectful, yet they want to beat your brains out."

It was the Yankees who delivered the beating Sunday.

NEW YORK MINNESOTA

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Jeter ss 4 1 2 1 Rivas 2b 4 0 0 0

JaGbi dh 4 1 2 0 Mntkw 1b 4 0 1 0

BWllms cf 5 1 1 1 THnter cf 4 1 3 0

Posada c 5 1 2 0 Przyns c 4 0 2 0

Matsui lf 5 1 1 1 Cddyer dh 4 0 1 1

ABoone 3b 4 1 1 0 JJones rf 4 0 0 0

JRivra rf 3 1 1 0 Koskie 3b 4 0 1 0

NJhnsn 1b 4 1 1 2 CGzmn ss 4 0 0 0

Totals 39 8 13 7 Totals 36 1 9 1

New York 000 600 011 -- 8

Minnesota 000 100 000 -- 1

E--Hawkins (2). DP--Minnesota 1. LOB--New York 7, Minnesota 8. 2B--JaGiambi 2 (2), BWilliams (2), Matsui (1), NJohnson (1), ShStewart (2). HR--Jeter (1). SB--ABoone (1).

IP H R ER BB SO

New York

DWells W,1-0 7 2-3 8 1 1 0 5

GWhite 1 1-3 1 0 0 0 1

Minnesota

Santana L,0-1 3 2-3 6 6 6 1 3

Rincon 0 1 0 0 2 0

Milton 3 1-3 2 0 0 0 2

Hawkins 1 2 1 1 0 1

Guardado 1 2 1 1 0 2

Rincon pitched to 3 batters in the 4th.

PB--Pierzynski.

Umpires--Home, Gary Darling; First, Tim Welke; Second, Greg Gibson; Third, Randy Marsh; Left, Eric Cooper; Right, Wally Bell.

T--2:49. A--55,875 (48,678).

Saturday's Game

Yankees 3, Twins 1

MINNEAPOLIS -- Roger Clemens isn't ready for the retirement home just yet.

Clemens may be 41-years-old and has earned more money in 20 major league seasons than most of us can dream about but the right-hander is still one of the game's top pitchers.

His fastball still hums along in the mid-90s. The bottom still drops out of his split-finger fastball. And, he can still strike out hitters half his age.

Clemens showed a crowd of 55,915 at the Metrodome on Saturday that he is a cinch first-ballot Hall of Famer, pitching the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory over the Twins in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.

The flame-throwing Clemens struck out six and walked one in seven innings. He gave up five hits and one earned run.

Clemens says he will retire following this season because he has achieved everything he can accomplish in the game.

"It has nothing to do with my family, as much as that team out on the field makes sacrifices for me to win," Clemens said. "My family has made as many sacrifices, dragging them around the country and having them experience what I get to go through. I hope my boys will be able to tell their family about it when I'm long gone and it will make memories for them."

Clemens' effort provided a memory for every fan to treasure. They watched the 310-game winner, and only the third pitcher in history with 4,000 strikeouts, handcuff a Twins lineup that struggled mightily throughout the series.

When Clemens was finished he handed the ball to ace reliever Mariano Rivera, who pitched two perfect innings, retiring all six Twins he faced, three via strikeouts.

"I call 'Mo' 'The Equalizer' because when he comes in all things aren't equal," Clemens said of Rivera. "I told him, 'I would have retired a long time ago if I had him. I would probably have 350 wins."

The only blemish on Clemens' performance was A.J. Pierzynski's solo home run 391 feet over the baggy in right in the third.

The Twins had other scoring opportunities, stranding three runners in scoring position, two at third base.

Japanese sensation Hideki Matsui put New York ahead 2-0 in the second when he cranked a high fastball from Kyle Lohse into the upper deck in right. The 394-foot shot preceded Bernie Williams' double into the right-field corner.

Yankees manager Joe Torre thought with Lohse consistently throwing in the mid-90s it was difficult to catch up with a high fastball.

"(Matsui) certainly was looking for something up, the way he got above it, for a left-hand hitter," Torre said. "That's not easy to get above a fastball. That's a ball. It was huge for us to get that two-run homer."

Williams put the Yankees ahead 3-0 in the third with an RBI single to center, scoring Juan Rivera, who led off the inning with an infield hit in the hole.

Lohse pitched respectably for five innings but threw 105 pitches. He finished with two walks and five strikeouts and gave up six hits and three earned runs.

"Matsui was looking over his head," Gardenhire said. "He clicked on the fastball. He's a veteran hitter. That's why he's a great player. He was looking for something and hit the ball in the upper deck. Lohse battled his tail off after that."

NEW YORK MINNESOTA

ab r h bi ab r h bi

ASrano 2b 5 0 0 0 ShStwrt lf 3 0 1 0

Jeter ss 4 0 1 0 Rivas 2b 2 0 0 0

JaGbi dh 4 0 0 0 Ryan ph 1 0 0 0

Dllucci dh 0 0 0 0 Hcking 2b 0 0 0 0

BWllms cf 3 1 2 1 Ford ph 1 0 0 0

Posada c 4 0 0 0 Gomez 2b 0 0 0 0

Matsui lf 4 1 2 2 Mntkw 1b 4 0 1 0

ABoone 3b 3 0 0 0 LeCroy dh 4 0 0 0

NJhnsn 1b 3 0 0 0 JJones rf 4 0 1 0

JRivra rf 4 1 3 0 THnter cf 4 0 0 0

Koskie 3b 3 0 0 0

Przyns c 3 1 1 1

CGzmn ss 3 0 1 0

Totals 34 3 8 3 Totals 32 1 5 1

New York 021 000 000 -- 3

Minnesota 001 000 000 -- 1

E--BWilliams (1). LOB--New York 10, Minnesota 5. 2B--BWilliams (1). HR--Matsui (1), Pierzynski (1). SB--ShStewart (1). S--ABoone.

IP H R ER BB SO

New York

Clemens W,1-0 7 5 1 1 1 6

MRivera S,2 2 0 0 0 0 3

Minnesota

Lohse L,0-1 5 6 3 3 2 5

Rogers 1 1-3 1 0 0 1 3

Romero 1 1-3 1 0 0 1 0

Rincon 1 1-3 0 0 0 1 1

Umpires--Home, Wally Bell; First, Gary Darling; Second, Tim Welke; Third, Greg Gibson; Left, Randy Marsh; Right, Eric Cooper.

T--3:02. A--55,915 (48,678).