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  Sunday, Sep. 3 1:05pm ET
Twins nip Yanks in 10th
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

NEW YORK (AP) -- Rookie Matt Kinney and boyhood idol Roger Clemens both pitched well enough to win. Instead, Torii Hunter stole it with his legs -- and help from reliever Mariano Rivera.

Torii Hunter scores the deciding run for the Twins in the 10th inning on Denny Hocking's single.

Hunter drew a two-out walk, swiped second on Rivera's mental lapse and scored on pinch-hitter Denny Hocking's single in the 10th inning to lift the Minnesota Twins to a 2-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Sunday.

"We beat ourselves with that play," Yankees manager Joe Torre said.

The Twins stopped a four-game losing streak and ended New York's three-game winning string. The Yankees had five hits, the Twins four, and there was a 54-minute rain delay in the middle of the eighth.

After Hunter walked, he broke for second with Rivera (7-4) still in the set position. But Rivera did not notice until it was too late, and then threw to first baseman Tino Martinez, who had no play.

"There was a lot of crowd noise, the dirt on the mound was muddy and I decided I was going," Hunter said. "I was counting -- one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three -- and going on three no matter what.

"When I started, I could hear Tino yelling for him to throw the ball. But he was just holding it. I don't know what he was thinking," he said. "After I got three or four steps, I knew I had it stolen."

It was only Hunter's third stolen base in five tries.

"No, I didn't see him. I take my eyes off him," Rivera said. "Tino yell for me to throw. I was on my way to first, I couldn't do anything. If I go to second, it's a balk."

After an intentional walk to Jacque Jones, Hocking delivered his team-high seventh pinch-hit in 20 tries.

"Being a bench player, I had been preparing myself since the fifth inning for an at-bat," Hocking said. "Trying to go up there and do it against Rivera, that's tough."

Eddie Guardado (5-3) pitched 2 1/3 innings and LaTroy Hawkins got two outs for his 10th save.

Hunter, who made two sensational catches in center field during Saturday's 13-4 loss, tracked down Bernie Williams' fly with runners on first and second to end it.

Martinez homered in the Yankees' second and almost won it in the ninth, lining a drive off the top of the right-field wall for a single.

Clemens pitched himself in position to earn his 259th career victory and Kinney could have picked up his first major league win. Instead, they both wound up with no-decisions.

Clemens allowed three hits in eight innings, striking out eight and walking one. His 3.53 ERA puts him second in the AL to Pedro Martinez (1.68).

A home run by Ron Coomer in a drizzle to open the seventh was Clemens' only blemish, and he left after the rain delay.

"I wasn't slipping then, but my hands and glove were getting wet," Clemens said.

Clemens exited with his seven-game winning streak intact. He has not lost in 13 starts since June 9.

Kinney, who grew up in Maine following Clemens, nearly matched his hero -- in statistics and style -- in his third major league start.

"Early on, I had some butterflies," Kinney, a 23-year-old right-hander, admitted.

Kinney gave up just two hits in six innings. He worked around five walks without rattling and struck out four.

Kinney stood on the rubber in close fashion to Clemens, with both feet square to the plate. The 6-foot-5 rookie's drop-and-drive release made him look like the Rocket, too.

Kinney was drafted by Boston in 1995 and traded to the Twins on July 31, 1998, in a package for Greg Swindell.

"I grew up as a die-hard Red Sox fan and saw Roger all the time," Kinney said. "I never really got to talk to him when I was in the Boston system, but you pick up things watching a guy your whole life."

Game notes
Yankees 2B Chuck Knoblauch briefly tested his ailing right elbow during infield practice, making throws to first base. "I only let it go once or twice," he said. It's still uncertain when he'll be able to play in a game. ... Kinney was a combined 11-3 at Double-A and Triple-A this season before losing his big league debut Aug. 18 at Toronto.
 


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NY Yankees Clubhouse


Steinbrenner's comments anger injured Knoblauch


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