Mays comes through this time for Twins

Joe Mays allowed four singles over eight masterful innings. AP

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Joe Mays' second try at pitching in the postseason was far more memorable for him and the Minnesota Twins.

Retiring his last 13 batters, Mays gave up four hits in eight innings Tuesday night and got the Twins off to a great start in the AL Championship Series with a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Angels.

"I never lost my confidence," Mays said. "I knew I'd get myself back to where I needed to be."

Mays threw 99 pitches, didn't allow a walk and struck out three. Eddie Guardado got the save with a hitless ninth.

Rocked for six runs and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings of Minnesota's 9-1 loss to Oakland in Game 2 of the division series, Mays trailed 3-0 after the first inning in that game on a three-run homer by A's third baseman Eric Chavez.

But Mays needed only eight pitches to get through the first inning Tuesday, giving up a one-out single to Darin Erstad but retiring Tim Salmon on a 6-4-3 double play.

Video Click the image to launch the clip Twins pitcher Joe Mays describes his performance that earned his team a victory in Game 1. Start Mays talks about the pitches he used to cool the bats of the hot-hitting Angels. Twins 3B Corey Koskie believes his team can keep winning with defense and strong pitching. Video Plus Visit Video Plus for all the latest video and audio.

In the dugout between innings, Mays told pitching coach Rick Anderson he was just trying to keep things simple.

"I said, 'Joe, that's what we've been talking about all year,'" Anderson said. "That's good. Hopefully, he can continue."

Following an All-Star game appearance and 17 victories in 2001, Mays signed a four-year, $20 million contract. But his first year with the new deal has been anything but smooth.

Three rough starts into the season, Mays went on the disabled list with inflammation around his right elbow and didn't return until July.

He showed signs of his old self over the past two months of the regular season, but finished 4-8 with a 5.38 ERA. And then came the awful outing against the A's last week.

Still, manager Ron Gardenhire didn't want to mess with his rotation, and he had no hesitation in sending Mays out for Game 1 of the Twins' first ALCS appearance since 1991.

The Angels scored 31 runs on 56 hits in their 3-1 division series victory over the New York Yankees, but their bats were silenced by Mays.

"Sometimes he tries to overthink himself," catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. "Tonight, he let the ball work for him instead of trying to force it or use mental telepathy."

Minnesota led the majors in fielding percentage and its 74 errors were the least in both leagues.

Save for Cristian Guzman's error, a lazy, two-out grounder by Erstad that squirted through the shortstop's legs and scored Adam Kennedy in the third inning, the defense was as good as it's been all year.

Ending a perfect sixth inning, second baseman Luis Rivas made a diving stop of Garret Anderson's grounder and threw to first base for the out.

Corey Koskie looked like a hockey goalie with a smooth stop of Scott Spiezio's chopper to third to finish the seventh.

Not even a fan who leaped out of the stands and ran onto the field as Kennedy grounded out to shortstop in the eighth could throw Mays off. He got David Eckstein to ground out to end the inning.

After Guzman's miscue, Mays let him know he still had faith in his shortstop.

"He goes to me, 'Let's go, let's go. I've got your back,'" Guzman said. "That's pretty good."

Guzman bounced back in the fifth inning with a single that preceded Koskie's go-ahead double.

"You make errors, you know?" Guzman said. "That's it. It was nice to do something, get a hit."

Game 1 was a bit of a rebound for Guardado, too.

The Twins' All-Star closer had a team-record 45 saves this year, but he had his teammates -- and the entire state of Minnesota -- biting their nails on Sunday. He gave up a three-run homer in the ninth inning of Minnesota's 5-4 win over the A's in Sunday's division series Game 5.

But with the crowd of 55,562 chanting "Ed-die! Ed-die!," Guardado got out of the ninth with no damage.

"Eddie came to me today and said, 'Don't lose confidence in me,'" Anderson said. "I told him, 'Why would I lose confidence in you? You saved 45 games this year.'"

 

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