MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- The difference between the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins never was more evident than in the pedigree and performance of their starting pitchers in Game Four of the American League Division Series.
David Wells allowed one run in 7 2/3 innings while Johan Santana was rocked in the fourth as the Yankees advanced to the AL Championship Series with an easy 8-1 rout of the Twins.
Wells (1-0), who entered with 200 career wins and serves as the team's No. 4 postseason starter, was brilliant throughout. He yielded eight hits and struck out five without a walk in improving to 9-2 lifetime in the postseason.
"A big thing for me today was eliminating walks," Wells said. "I think the majority of guys that I walk end up scoring. ... I've always pitched well in Minnesota. I feel confident when I'm here and if I feel confident like that, I can do well."
"He was really impressive," Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said. "He really got them to chase balls in the dirt. He kept the ball down and away."
Santana (0-1), who has 23 career wins and started twice in the four-game series, cruised through three innings before falling apart in the fourth. He was tagged for six runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings and let the game get out of hand in the fourth.
Santana surrendered RBI doubles to Bernie Williams and Hideki Matsui and a two-run double to slumping Nick Johnson. Juan Rincon came on and allowed a two-run single to Alfonso Soriano that capped the outburst and reduced the rest of the game to a formality.
"I wasn't able to keep them down," Santana said. "I just tried to stay aggressive. The ball was everywhere. They were hitting it all over. I am disappointed to lose. ... They made some adjustments. I was doing what I did the first time. I was trying to throw strikes and throw my fastball, but they hit it in the right spots."
New York hosts Game One of the ALCS on Wednesday. The Yankees, seeking their sixth World Series appearance in eight years, will face either the archrival Boston Red Sox or Oakland Athletics.
"You like Boston because it's a shorter trip and an intense series," Wells said. "That would create a lot of excitement for both New York and Boston."
"I have friends in Oakland and they've never gotten out of the first round, so that would be fun," added New York first baseman Jason Giambi, who left the A's for the Yankees after the 2001 season.
After dropping the series opener at home and coming off a first-round postseason exit in 2002, New York righted the ship with solid pitching as Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and Wells limited Minnesota to three runs over the final three games.
"People keep asking about last year, what the difference was. (Starting pitching), that's the difference," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "Last year, we just didn't pitch well. We didn't pitch up to our standards. And I said going into this series I just felt more comfortable with the way we were pitching toward the end of the year."
The Twins managed just six runs in the series and have lost 16 of the last 17 meetings with the Yankees. New York also has won nine straight games at the Metrodome.
"Every one of them went out there and pitched their tails off," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of the Yankee starters. "You're going to say we're not swinging good. Good pitching does that to hitters. We got a young bunch of hitters, but, man, they pitched. You look at all the guys that ran out there."
Gardenhire expressed his belief that New York is the team to beat.
"They're the best team in the league," he said. "Somebody has to knock them off right now. Unfortunately for us, we couldn't get it done. We wish them well. I like Joe Torre a lot. ... I wish them well."
After Minnesota left a runner at second in the third, Santana opened the fourth by striking out Jeter. But Giambi doubled into the left-center field gap and scored on a double by Williams.
Posada singled to put runners on the corners and Matsui, who delievered the big blow in Game Three, produced a ground-rule double over the center field fence. Santana got Aaron Boone on an infield popout and Juan Rivera was walked intentionally.
With a chance to get out of the jam against Johnson, who was hitless in his previous 26 at-bats, Santana left a 1-2 fastball up and Johnson punished him with a two-run double. Rincon came on and gave up a bloop single to Soriano that pushed the lead to 6-0.
"That was a huge hit," Torre said of Johnson's double. "I mean, I can't remember the last hit he got, to be honest with you. ... Then all of a sudden, you know, he gets that huge hit, especially with two strikes, into right-center field."
"It wasn't wearing on me," Johnson said of the slump. "I've had slumps like that before. I've just been jumping at the ball a little lately. I just need to remember to stay back on it. I've just got to keep it simple every day and just let it fly."
Gardenhire recognized what Santana's problem.
"He was just up, you could see it," the manager said. "He had good velocity, good breaking ball, good changeup. (He was) 0-2 on Bernie, slider down the middle, the guy hits it for a double. On Nick Johnson, he got him 1-2, fastball sailed to the middle of the plate. He just missed."
Minnesota pushed across its lone run in the fourth on an RBI single by Michael Cuddyer and had two aboard with one out. But Wells responded by getting Jacque Jones and Corey Koskie on fly balls.
"It is so frustrating," Twins center fielder Torii Hunter said. "You just can't imagine what it is like. I have had trouble sleeping. ... You know what they are capable of, but you are hopeful. They will take advantage of every mistake. You can't make mistakes to them. And their pitching doesn't make too many mistakes."
"They pitched and pitched and pitched," Minnesota catcher A.J. Pierzynski added. "We tried to match them, but we made a few more mistakes. They outpitched us."
New York plated a run in the eighth on a throwing error by reliever LaTroy Hawkins and Jeter launched his 12th career postseason homer in the ninth.
Minnesota finished the regular season with 90 wins and captured the AL Central Division title with one of the best final three months in baseball.
"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 all right. We played our hearts out. We got after it as best we could."
