MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Alex Rodriguez ran the New York Yankees into the American League Championship Series, where a head-on collision with their heated rivals awaits.

Rodriguez doubled, stole third and scored on a wild pitch in the top of the 11th inning as the Yankees posted a 6-5 triumph over the Minnesota Twins and closed out their best-of-five AL Division Series in four games.

And while the Yankees can bask in the glory of their latest postseason comeback on the flight home, they will arrive in New York to the chaos that accompanies a meeting with the rival Boston Red Sox . After a thrilling seven-game encounter in the 2003 ALCS and more theatrics in the regular season, the two teams will kick off their best-of-seven series Tuesday at Yankee Stadium.

"It's going to be nuts," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We played them 19 times, and last year, it was the last series. I anticipate its going to be the same kind of emotional rollercoaster. ... I guess it was supposed to come down to this. ... I think its going to be obviously electric again."

"This is what everyone wants to see," Yankees right fielder Gary Sheffield said. "We get to give it to them. Right now, I am just happy to have the chance to play Boston. We will play the game like we always do. ... We just need to play one game at a time."

The Yankees earned their way into the rematch by erasing a four-run deficit in the eighth inning of this one. Ruben Sierra provided the key blow, a long three-run homer to right-center field that forged a 5-5 tie.

After threatening in the ninth, Rodriguez led New York to victory in the 11th. He ripped a one-out double to left against Kyle Lohse (0-1), stole third and scored on a wild pitch that veteran backstop Pat Borders failed to block.

"I think what makes you a winning player is you have to be able to do the little things," Rodriguez said. "You can't always play big ball. I thought there was a window of opportunity with Lohse, and I told Sheffield I was going to steal. ... Most guys don't take 1-1 changeups down the middle. To concede the stolen base, that's what makes Sheffield such a good player."

"(Alex) is so multi-dimensional," Torre said. "He can do just about anything he wants, not wants to do, but he has the ability to do a lot of things. Obviously, the stolen base was a huge part of that inning when we scored. It really puts pressure on the defense. ... He's on a special run right now, and hopefully we can carry it through the championship series."

Lohse offered his explanation on the wild pitch.

"Sheffield's a pretty good hitter and we're not going to give in," he said. "At 2-2, I wanted to put it close to the dirt. It's pretty much what I wanted to do, but it just slipped by him."

"We were trying to get him to chase a pitch in order to set up a slider outside," Borders said. "You realize (the ball is going to get away) right off the bat, especially on this turf. There's not much you can do after that. (Lohse's) slider has a little kick to it off the dirt, and you've got to try and knock it down. If you do, you do, but you just do what you can."

The Yankees set a major league record with 61 come-from-behind victories during the regular season.

"Every day, every game like this, you think you've never seen one like it and all of a sudden, another one pops up," Torre said. "This one today is probably as unlikely as any of them. Especially playing here and being down 5-1 and knowing how good the bullpen is. They don't stop. We went through two innings after they scored the runs and we didn't touch a thing, and all of a sudden, we get a man on base and things start happening."

With Mariano Rivera (1-0) already in the game, this postseason contest ended like so many others have for the defending AL champions when their star closer on the mound - easily. Rivera retired all six batters he faced, allowing just one ball out of the infield.

The Twins have lost 23 of the last 27 meetings between the teams and were bounced by the Yankees in four games in the opening round of the postseason for the second straight year. But this series was particularly brutal for Minnesota, which led in all four games and dropped a pair of extra-inning affairs.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire may rue his decision making in this one as he pulled ace Johan Santana after just five innings and 87 pitches. The 25-year-old lefthander was starting on three days' rest for the first time in his career and Minnesota did have a 5-1 lead.

"He was done. He was going to go back out there, then the inning got really long and he was trying to stretch, and he told me you better get someone to go back out with me," Gardenhire said. "He told me he was tired and would go at least one more. As the inning went along, you could see he was done. The kid had done everything he could do. He did what he was supposed to do."

"I think they were trying to wear me out," Santana said. "They were taking a lot pitches and fouling a lot off. I stayed with it the whole time, thinking it's not going to happen. Things just didn't work out."

Grant Balfour followed Santana with two hitless innings, but Juan Rincon was brutal in the eighth.

Sheffield led off with an infield hit and took second on a wild pitch before Hideki Matsui walked and Bernie Williams ripped an RBI single to right-center field to make it 5-2. Jorge Posada struck out, but Sierra ripped a 2-2 pitch over the wall in right-center field.

"I just wanted to be ready for anything," Sierra said. "I had the feeling something was going to happen. I didn't know what it was. I am just glad that it was a home run to tie the game. I wasn't sitting on anything. He throws hard. I wanted to get something I can handle and put a bat on the ball."

"He has been coming through all year," Yankees captain Derek Jeter said of Sierra. "It is tough to produce when you sit every now and then. But when he has the opportunity he has come through. You can't have a bigger hit than he had today. He never quits. It is tough not to play every day."

Gardenhire defended Rincon, who had been unscored upon in 5 1/3 postseason innings prior to this appearance.

"That was (Rincon's) inning," Gardenhire said. "Balfour did a great job. That's been (Rincon's) inning the whole year. ... The guy did what those Yankees do. It's unbelievable. Rincon has done that all year for us. I can only think of two times he hadn't gotten it done. It's a little unfortunate tonight, but that kid has busted his (butt) for us all year long."

Joe Nathan worked in and out of trouble in the ninth and gave way to Lohse to start the 10th. Lohse, a member of the Twins' rotation during the regular season, was making his first appearance of the series.

Santana, who blanked New York over seven innings in Game One, was almost as good this time around. Without his dominant changeup, he worked around five hits and three walks. He surrendered just one run - on an RBI single by Matsui in the third - and made big pitches to end the fourth and fifth innings.

After Santana retired Williams on a chopper to shortstop to strand the tying run at second in the fifth, batterymate Henry Blanco opened the bottom of the inning with a line drive over the left field wall for a 3-1 lead.

Yankees starter Javier Vazquez got the next two batters, but Torii Hunter and Justin Morneau singled. Vazquez, who has endured an erratic first season in New York, then hit Corey Koskie and grooved an 0-2 pitch that Lew Ford ripped into the left field corner for a four-run lead.

Gardenhire then pulled Santana, leaving the door open for the possibility that he could see action in Game Five. It never got that far.