2003 American League Division Series
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season New York Yankees (3) Joe Torre 101–61, .623, GA: 6 Minnesota Twins (1) Ron Gardenhire 90–72, .556, GA: 4
Dates	September 30 – October 5
Television	ESPN (Games 1, 3, 4) Fox (Game 2)
TV announcers	Jon Miller andJoe Morgan (Game 1) Joe Buck andTim McCarver (Game 2) Gary Thorne,Jeff Brantley andDavid Justice (in Minnesota)
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	Dan Shulman andDave Campbell
Teams
Team (Wins) Manager Season Boston Red Sox (3) Grady Little 95–67, .586, GB: 6 Oakland Athletics (2) Ken Macha 96–66, .593, GA: 3
Dates	October 1 – 6
Television	ESPN (Games 1, 4) ESPN2 (Games 2–3) Fox (Game 5)
TV announcers	Dave O'Brien,David Justice, andJeff Brantley (Game 1) Jon Miller andJoe Morgan (Games 2–4) Thom Brennaman andSteve Lyons (Game 5)
Radio	ESPN
Radio announcers	John Rooney,Buck Martinez
Umpires	Ed Montague,Ted Barrett,Paul Emmel,Gerry Davis,Jim Joyce,Bill Welke (Yankees–Twins, Games 1–2; Red Sox–Athletics, Games 3–4) Randy Marsh,Eric Cooper,Wally Bell,Gary Darling,Tim Welke,Greg Gibson (Red Sox–Athletics, Games 1–2 & 5; Yankees–Twins, Games 3–4)
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The2003American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of theAmerican League side inMajor League Baseball’s (MLB)2003 postseason, 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 (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 (Wild Card, 95–67): Red Sox win series, 3–2.

^[1]

The Yankees defeated the Red Sox in theAL Championship Series, then lost the2003 World Series to theNational League championFlorida Marlins.

New York won the series, 3–1.

Boston won the series, 3–2.

Yankee Stadium (I) inBronx, New York

The Twins struck first in Game 1 whenCristian Guzman andShannon Stewart hit back-to-back one-out singles in the third offMike Mussina, then the former scored onLuis Rivas's sacrifice fly.Matt LeCroy singled to lead off the sixth, then scored on a triple byTorii Hunter, who himself scored on Yankees second basemanAlfonso Soriano's error. The Yankees scored a run in the ninth on Soriano's two-out single with runners on second and third offEddie Guardado, butNick Johnson then grounded out to end the game as the Twins, despite using five pitchers, took a 1–0 series lead.

Yankee Stadium (I) inBronx, New York

The Yankees loaded the bases with no outs on three singles in the first offBrad Radke, but scored just once onBernie Williams's sacrifice fly. The Twins tied the game in the fifth onTorii Hunter's leadoff home run offAndy Pettitte. Radke hit Nick Johnson to lead off the seventh. AfterJuan Rivera's sacrifice bunt,LaTroy Hawkins relieved Radke and allowed an RBI single toAlfonso Soriano. Hawkins's error onDerek Jeter's ground ball put him at second and Soriano at third. Both scored onJason Giambi's single andMariano Rivera pitched two perfect innings for the save. The Yankees' 4–1 win tied the series heading to Minnesota.

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome inMinneapolis, Minnesota

The Yankees struck first in Game 3 onHideki Matsui's two-run home run in the second offKyle Lohse. They added another run next inning onBernie Williams's single that scored Juan Rivera from second.A. J. Pierzynski's leadoff home run in the bottom of the inning offRoger Clemens cut the lead to 3–1, but neither team scored after that withMariano Rivera again pitching two perfect innings for a save as the Yankees took a 2–1 series lead.

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome inMinneapolis, Minnesota

In the fourth,Jason Giambi doubled with one out, then scored onBernie Williams's double. AfterJorge Posada singled,Hideki Matsui's ground-rule double scored Williams.Aaron Boone popped out before Juan Rivera was intentionally walked to load the bases. Nick Johnson's double scored two more and knockedJohan Santana out of the game.Juan Rincon in relief allowed a two-run single toAlfonso Soriano, then walkedDerek 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 offDavid Wells, the last of which byMichael Cuddyer scoredTorii Hunter, but could not score again off Wells orGabe White. The Yankees added a run in the eighth offLaTroy Hawkins 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 offEddie Guardado put the Yankees up 8–1 as they secured their place in the American League Championship Series with a blowout win.

2003 ALDS(3–1):New York Yankees overMinnesota Twins

Network Associates Coliseum inOakland, California

The Red Sox went up 1–0 in the first onTodd Walker's two-out home run offTim Hudson, but in the third,Erubiel Durazo drove in two runs with a double offPedro Martinez before Durazo himself scored on a single fromMiguel Tejada, who was tagged out at second to end the inning. The Red Sox cut the Athletics' lead to 3–2 in the fifth onJason Varitek's home run. In the seventh, Hudson allowed a two-out single toNomar Garciaparra and was relieved byRicardo Rincon, who allowed a home run to Walker to put the Red Sox up 4–3. In the ninth,Byung-hyun Kim walkedBilly McMillon, then hitChris Singleton with a pitch. AfterMark Ellis struck out for the second out,Alan Embree relieved Kim and allowed a game-tying RBI single to Durazo, sending the game into extra innings. Oakland won it in the 12th when catcherRamón Hernández laid down a two-out, bases-loaded bunt single offDerek Lowe, scoring Eric Chavez from third base. This was Oakland's ninth consecutive playoff win over Boston in the wake of ALCS sweeps in1988 and1990, breaking the record for consecutive playoff wins against one team set by the New York Yankees against theChicago Cubs with World Series sweeps in 1932 and 1938. Incidentally, the Yankeesnearly got a chance to extend that streak the same year.

Network Associates Coliseum inOakland, California

The Athletics won Game 2 with a five-run outburst in the second inning offTim Wakefield.Jose Guillen walked with one out, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored onRamón Hernández's single. AfterJermaine Dye was hit by a pitch,Eric Byrnes's double scored both runners. After a walk and ground out,Todd Walker's errant throw to first onEric Chavez'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 byDoug Mirabelli andJohnny Damon offBarry Zito. The Athletics were one win away from a trip to the ALCS.

Fenway Park inBoston, Massachusetts

In Game 3, three errors in the second allowed the Red Sox to go up 1–0 onDamian Jackson's fielder's choice. The Athletics had a potential rally stifled by controversial outs.Eric Byrnes was tagged out after failing to touch home plate after a collision with catcherJason Varitek.Miguel Tejada was similarly retired after being obstructed byBill Mueller 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.^[11] The one run scored in the inning sent the game into extra innings, where Boston won on a two-run walk-off home run byTrot Nixon offRich Harden. This loss ended Oakland's playoff-record winning streak against the Red Sox at ten games, a record the Red Sox themselves would break in2008 when they won their 11th consecutive playoff game against theAngels.

Fenway Park inBoston, Massachusetts

After Oakland starterTim Hudson 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 onJermaine Dye's bases loaded RBI single offJohn Burkett, butJohnny Damon's two-run home run after a walk in the third offSteve Sparks put the Red Sox up 2–1. In the sixth, Burkett allowed a leadoff single toScott Hatteberg, who scored onAdam Melhuse's triple one out later, then Dye's home run put the Athletics up 4–2.Todd Walker's home run in the bottom of the inning offRicardo Rincon cut the lead to 4–3. In the eighth, closerKeith Foulke allowed a one-out double toNomar Garciaparra, then a two-out single toManny Ramirez before both scored onDavid Ortiz's double.Scott Williamson earned the win with two shutout innings to close as the Red Sox's 5–4 win forced a Game 5 in Oakland.

Network Associates Coliseum inOakland, California

The Athletics struck first in Game 5 in the fourth offPedro Martinez whenScott Hatteberg walked with two outs and scored onJose Guillen's double, butJason Varitek's lead-off home run in the sixth tied the game offBarry Zito. Following a walk and hit-by-pitch,Manny Ramirez'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 whenErubiel Durazo doubled with one out and scored onMiguel Tejada's double one out later. They cut it to 4–3 when Chris Singleton hit a leadoff double off Martinez and scored onBilly McMillon's single in the eighth. The A's loaded the bases on three walks in the ninth inning, but temporary closerDerek Lowe struck outTerrence Long looking to end the game. The win was marred by a violent collision between outfielderJohnny Damon and second basemanDamian Jackson. Damon was sent to the hospital where he was diagnosed with aconcussion. 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.

2003 ALDS(3–2):Boston Red Sox overOakland Athletics

• NYY vs. MIN at Baseball-Reference
• BOS vs. OAK at Baseball-Reference
• 2003 Boston Red Sox Division Series Magazine

• American League Division Series
• 2003 Major League Baseball season
• New York Yankees postseason
• Boston Red Sox postseason
• Minnesota Twins postseason
• Oakland Athletics postseason
• 2003 in sports in California
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