The 2003

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

(ALDS), the opening round of the 2003

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

playoffs, began on Tuesday, September 30, and ended on Monday, October 6, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. The teams were: *(1)

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

(Eastern Division champion, 101–61) vs. (3) Minnesota Twins (Central Division champion, 90–72): Yankees win series, 3–1. *(2) Oakland Athletics (Western Division champion, 96–66) vs. (4)

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

(Wild Card, 95–67): Red Sox win series, 3–2. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox in the AL Championship Series, then lost the

2003 World Series The 2003 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2003 season. The 99th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Florida Marlins and the American Lea ...

to the National League champion

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

Matchups

New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins

Oakland Athletics vs. Boston Red Sox

New York vs. Minnesota

Game 1

Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York The Twins struck first in Game 1 when Cristian Guzman and Shannon Stewart hit back-to-back one-out singles in the third off

Mike Mussina Michael Cole Mussina (born December 8, 1968), nicknamed "Moose", is an American former baseball starting pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1991–2000) and the New York Yankees (2001–2008). ...

, then the former scored on Luis Rivas's sacrifice fly. Matt LeCroy singled to lead off the sixth, then scored on a triple by

Torii Hunter Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Detroit Tigers from 1997 ...

, who himself scored on Yankees second baseman

Alfonso Soriano Alfonso Guilleard Soriano (born January 7, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball left fielder and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, and Chicago C ...

's error. The Yankees scored a run in the ninth on Soriano's two-out single with runners on second and third off

Eddie Guardado Edward Adrian Guardado (born October 2, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher and current bullpen coach. Guardado played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins (–, ), Seattle Mariners (–), Cincinnati Reds (–) ...

, but Nick Johnson then grounded out to end the game as the Twins, despite using five pitchers, took a 1–0 series lead.

Game 2

Yankee Stadium (I) in Bronx, New York The Yankees loaded the bases with no outs on three singles in the first off

Brad Radke Brad William Radke (born October 27, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played his entire 12 season career with the Minnesota Twins. Radke won 148 career games and was one of the most consistent pitchers in ...

, but scored just once on

Bernie Williams Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. (born September 13, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and a musician. He played his entire 16-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees from 1991 through 2006. ...

's sacrifice fly. The Twins tied the game in the fifth on

's leadoff home run off

Andy Pettitte Andrew Eugene Pettitte (; born June 15, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Yankees. He also pitched for the Houston Astros. Pettitte won fiv ...

. Radke hit Nick Johnson to lead off the seventh. After Juan Rivera's sacrifice bunt,

LaTroy Hawkins LaTroy Hawkins (born December 21, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In his 21-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Colorad ...

relieved Radke and allowed an RBI single to

. Hawkins's error on Derek Jeter's ground ball put him at second and Soriano at third. Both scored on

Jason Giambi Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yank ...

's single and

Mariano Rivera Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most ...

pitched two perfect innings for the save. The Yankees' 4–1 win tied the series heading to Minnesota.

Game 3

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (commonly called the Metrodome) was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It opened in 1982 as a replacement for Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of the National Football League ...

in Minneapolis, Minnesota The Yankees struck first in Game 3 on

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed " Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Mats ...

's two-run home run in the second off

Kyle Lohse Kyle Matthew Lohse (; born October 4, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, an ...

. They added another run next inning on

's single that scored Juan Rivera from second.

A. J. Pierzynski Anthony John Pierzynski (; born December 30, 1976) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Minnesota Twins (1998–2003), San Francisco Giants (2004), Chicago White Sox (2005–2012) ...

's leadoff home run in the bottom of the inning off

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

cut the lead to 3–1, but neither team scored after that with

again pitching two perfect innings for a save as the Yankees took a 2–1 series lead.

Game 4

in Minneapolis, Minnesota In the fourth,

doubled with one out, then scored on

's double. After

Jorge Posada Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta (born August 17, 1970) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Posada recorded a .273 batting average, 275 home runs, and ...

singled,

's ground-rule double scored Williams.

Aaron Boone Aaron John Boone (born March 9, 1973) is an American baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 13 seasons from 1997 through 2009. As a player ...

popped out before Juan Rivera was intentionally walked to load the bases. Nick Johnson's double scored two more and knocked

Johan Santana Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...

out of the game. Juan Rincon in relief allowed a two-run single to

, then walked Derek Jeter and Giambi to load the bases again. Eric Milton relieved Rincon and got Williams to ground out to end the inning. The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the inning on three consecutive singles off

David Wells David Lee Wells (born May 20, 1963) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams, most notably the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Boomer", Wells was considered on ...

, the last of which by

Michael Cuddyer Michael Brent Cuddyer (; born March 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, and New York Mets. He batted and threw right-han ...

scored

, but could not score again off Wells or Gabe White. The Yankees added a run in the eighth off

when Boone hit a lead off single, stole second and scored on Juan Rivera's bunt single that was misplayed by Hawkins. Jeter's home run in the ninth off

put the Yankees up 8–1 as they secured their place in the American League Championship Series with a blowout win.

Composite box

2003 ALDS (3–1):

over Minnesota Twins

Oakland vs. Boston

Game 1

Network Associates Coliseum in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

The Red Sox went up 1–0 in the first on

Todd Walker Todd Arthur Walker (born May 25, 1973) is a former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 to 2007. Listed at and , he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Walker played college baseball at Loui ...

's two-out home run off

Tim Hudson Timothy Adam Hudson (born July 14, 1975), nicknamed "Huddy" is an American former professional baseball pitcher of Major League Baseball (MLB). After spending his college years at Chattahoochee Valley Community College and Auburn University, Hu ...

, but in the third,

Erubiel Durazo Erubiel Durazo Cárdenas (born January 23, 1975) is a Mexican former professional baseball player. Durazo played for the Arizona Diamondbacks (–) and the Oakland Athletics (–) in Major League Baseball. Major league career He helped the Dia ...

drove in two runs with a double off

Pedro Martinez Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for '' Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

before Durazo himself scored on a single from

Miguel Tejada Miguel Odalis Tejada ( Tejeda; born May 25, 1974) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for six teams, most notably the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, befor ...

, who was tagged out at second to end the inning. The Red Sox cut the Athletics' lead to 3–2 in the fifth on

Jason Varitek Jason Andrew Varitek (; born April 11, 1972), nicknamed Tek, is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher. He is currently the game planning coordinator, a uniformed coaching position, for the Boston Red Sox. After being traded ...

's home run. In the seventh, Hudson allowed a two-out single to

Nomar Garciaparra Anthony Nomar Garciaparra (; born July 23, 1973) is an American retired Major League Baseball player and current SportsNet LA analyst. After playing parts of nine seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played shortstop, third ...

and was relieved by Ricardo Rincon, who allowed a home run to Walker to put the Red Sox up 4–3. In the ninth,

Byung-hyun Kim Byung-hyun Kim (; or ; born January 19, 1979) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. He had his most successful years with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Boston Red Sox. Kim is remembered for his role in the 2001 World Ser ...

walked Billy McMillon, then hit Chris Singleton with a pitch. After Mark Ellis struck out for the second out,

Alan Embree Alan Duane Embree (born January 23, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Embree played for the Cleveland Indians (1992–1996), Atlanta Braves (1997–1998), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998), San Francisco Giants (1999–2001), Chic ...

relieved Kim and allowed a game-tying RBI single to Durazo, sending the game into extra innings. Oakland won it in the 12th when catcher

Ramón Hernández Ramón José Hernández Marin (; born May 20, 1976) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Oakland Athletics (1999–2003), San Diego Padres (2004–2005), Baltimore Orioles (2006 ...

laid down a two-out, bases-loaded bunt single off Derek Lowe, scoring Eric Chavez from third base. This was Oakland's ninth consecutive playoff win over Boston in the wake of ALCS sweeps in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

and

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, breaking the record for consecutive playoff wins against one team set by the New York Yankees against the Chicago Cubs with World Series sweeps in 1932 and 1938. Incidentally, the Yankees nearly got a chance to extend that streak the same year.

Game 2

Network Associates Coliseum in

The Athletics won Game 2 with a five-run outburst in the second inning off

Tim Wakefield Timothy Stephen Wakefield (born August 2, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Wakefield began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-yea ...

. Jose Guillen walked with one out, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on

's single. After

Jermaine Dye Jermaine Trevell Dye (born January 28, 1974) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. Dye grew up in Northern California and was a multi-sport star at Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville. Dye attended Cosumnes River College in ...

was hit by a pitch,

Eric Byrnes Eric James Byrnes (born February 16, 1976), is a baseball analyst and former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Se ...

's double scored both runners. After a walk and ground out,

's errant throw to first on

Eric Chavez Eric Cesar Chavez (born December 7, 1977) is an American professional baseball coach and former third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (1998–2010), New York Yankees (2011–2012), and Arizona Diamondb ...

's ground ball scored two more runs. The Red Sox scored their only run of the game in the third on back-to-back doubles by

Doug Mirabelli Douglas Anthony Mirabelli (born October 18, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the San Francisco Giants (1996–2000), Texas Rangers (2001), Boston Red Sox (2001–2005), and San Diego Padres (2006) before returning to ...

and

Johnny Damon Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2012. During his MLB career, Damon played for the Kansas City Royals (1995–2000), Oakland A ...

off Barry Zito. The Athletics were one win away from a trip to the ALCS.

Game 3

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

in Boston, Massachusetts In Game 3, three errors in the second allowed the Red Sox to go up 1–0 on

Damian Jackson Damian Jacques Jackson (born August 16, 1973) is a former major league second baseman who played 11 seasons for nine Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. He batted and threw right-handed. Early life Jackson grew up in Los Angeles, but moved to N ...

's fielder's choice. The Athletics had a potential rally stifled by controversial outs.

was tagged out after failing to touch home plate after a collision with catcher

was similarly retired after being obstructed by

Bill Mueller William Richard Mueller ( ; born March 17, 1971) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Mueller's MLB playing career was spent with the San Francisco Giants (1996–2000, 2002), Chic ...

while rounding third base. Obstruction was called by umpire Tim Welke. However time was not called by the umpire and Tejada stopped running thus giving the Red Sox time to tag him. The one run scored in the inning sent the game into extra innings, where Boston won on a two-run walk-off home run by

Trot Nixon The trot is a ten-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is somet ...

off

Rich Harden James Richard Harden (born November 30, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. Early years Harden attended Claremont Secondary ...

. This loss ended Oakland's playoff-record winning streak against the Red Sox at ten games, a record the Red Sox themselves would break in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

when they won their 11th consecutive playoff game against the

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

Game 4

in Boston, Massachusetts After Oakland starter

left with a strained left oblique after only one inning, the A's bullpen held the Sox to only three runs over the next seven innings. The Athletics went up 1–0 in the second on

's bases loaded RBI single off

John Burkett John David Burkett (born November 28, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He compiled 166 wins against 136 losses, 1,766 strikeouts, and a 4.31 earned run average. He pitched from 1987 to 2003, with the San Francisco Giant ...

, but

's two-run home run after a walk in the third off Steve Sparks put the Red Sox up 2–1. In the sixth, Burkett allowed a leadoff single to

Scott Hatteberg Scott Allen Hatteberg (born December 14, 1969) is an American former professional first baseman and catcher. During his MLB career, spanning from 1995 through 2008, he played for the Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, and Cincinnati Reds. Befo ...

, who scored on

Adam Melhuse Adam Michael Melhuse (born March 27, 1972) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers. He is was the hitting coa ...

's triple one out later, then Dye's home run put the Athletics up 4–2.

's home run in the bottom of the inning off Ricardo Rincon cut the lead to 4–3. In the eighth, closer

Keith Foulke Keith Charles Foulke ( ; born October 19, 1972) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. A graduate of Hargrave High School in Huffman, Texas, Foulke attended Galveston College and Lewis–Clark State College. Between 1997 and 2008, h ...

allowed a one-out double to

, then a two-out single to

Manny Ramirez Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, L ...

before both scored on David Ortiz's double.

Scott Williamson Scott Ryan Williamson (born February 17, 1976) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) right-handed relief pitcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1999–2003), Boston Red Sox (2003-), Chicago Cubs (2005–2006), San Diego Padres ( ...

earned the win with two shutout innings to close as the Red Sox's 5–4 win forced a Game 5 in Oakland.

Game 5

Network Associates Coliseum in

The Athletics struck first in Game 5 in the fourth off

when

walked with two outs and scored on Jose Guillen's double, but

's lead-off home run in the sixth tied the game off Barry Zito. Following a walk and hit-by-pitch,

's three-run home run put the Red Sox up 4–1. The Athletics cut it to 4–2 in the bottom of the inning when

doubled with one out and scored on

's double one out later. They cut it to 4–3 when Chris Singleton hit a leadoff double off Martinez and scored on Billy McMillon's single in the eighth. The A's loaded the bases on three walks in the ninth inning, but temporary closer Derek Lowe struck out

Terrence Long Terrence Deon Long (born February 29, 1976) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 to 2006 for the New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, and N ...

looking to end the game. The win was marred by a violent collision between outfielder

and second baseman

. Damon was sent to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a concussion. Boston's victory secured their place in the American League Championship Series while Oakland lost the ALDS after being up two games to none for the second time in three years.

Composite box

2003 ALDS (3–2):

over Oakland Athletics

Notes

External links

NYY vs. MIN at Baseball-ReferenceBOS vs. OAK at Baseball-Reference2003 Boston Red Sox Division Series Magazine
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