Twins and A's head to Dome all tied up

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Their AL division series tied at a game apiece, the Minnesota Twins have an advantage over the Oakland Athletics this weekend. An audible one. Games 3 and 4 are at

Friday, October 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Their AL division series tied at a game apiece, the Minnesota Twins have an advantage over the Oakland Athletics this weekend.

An audible one.

Games 3 and 4 are at the dingy, noisy, carpeted and Teflon-covered place they call the Metrodome _ where the Twins are 11-1 in the playoffs. There's nothing like it in baseball, and the A's will find that out Friday in Game 3.

``The only thing we know for a fact that it's going to be loud,'' said Ron Gardenhire.

But Minnesota's first-year manager knows that stadiums don't play baseball.

``Our players can't think the Dome is going to win the game for us,'' said Gardenhire, a third-base coach on the 1991 team that won the World Series _ the last time Minnesota played in the postseason.

``Oakland is not going to lose because of the Metrodome. We have to beat them.''

But there's no denying the Twins have the edge when the game moves indoors.

``We can get three runs without getting a ball out of the infield,'' said first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz. ``We hit the ball on the ground, move the runners over and take advantage of our speed. This team was brought along for this place.''

Minnesota's lefty-laden lineup struggled Wednesday in a 9-1 loss to left-hander Mark Mulder, and the Twins must face another lefty, Cy Young candidate Barry Zito, in Game 3.

So Minnesota's best hope for advancing to the AL championship series is to win two straight at home and avoid a return matchup against Mulder in Game 5 Sunday.

``Of course we don't want to go back to that place,'' catcher A.J. Pierzynski said. ``People ask, 'Do you want another crack at Mulder?' Yeah, I want another crack at Mulder ... next year.''

But it might not be that easy.

``I don't see either team winning two in a row,'' Mientkiewicz said. ``This is going to be a gut-wrenching series. Hopefully, it's not five (games), but it looks like it's going that way.''

The Twins, who clinched the AL Central on Sept. 15 in Cleveland, would love to celebrate advancing at home _ in front of the fans who wondered last winter if they'd even have a team to root for this year. After baseball's bid to fold the franchise failed, Minnesota showed small-market teams can win.

Rick Reed (15-7) starts Friday for Minnesota. A New York Met from 1996-01, Reed is 1-1 with a 3.84 ERA in five postseason starts _ including a no-decision in Game 3 of the 2000 World Series, the only game the Mets won against the Yankees.

``I'm not going to go out and do anything drastic,'' Reed said. ``Just going to go out there and do what I've done all year, which is hopefully throw strikes. We've played pretty good baseball here. We'll see what happens.''

Brad Radke and Joe Mays both had trouble in the early innings of Games 1 and 2. The Twins are counting on six or seven strong innings from Reed.

``He's our go-to guy,'' Mientkiewicz said. ``He's been here before. He's the guy we want on the mound. He's got experience in games like this.''

But probably not in games this loud. The only active player in this series who has experienced the playoffs in the Metrodome is A's left fielder David Justice, whose Atlanta Braves lost to the Twins in the '91 Series.

``If you could put a lid over Yankee Stadium, I think it would be probably even louder than here,'' Justice said. ``Although it will be something new for us, it will be something new for their ballclub, as well, because I don't think they've experienced it, either.''

Minnesota was 23-3 in series openers this year, a statistic partly attributable to the difficulty opponents have adjusting to the dirty ceiling (balls can easily be lost in the outfield), lively turf and loud crowd.

But, as Justice pointed out, this will be a new experience for the Twins, too.

``I don't care how many games you play in this atmosphere,'' Mientkiewicz said. ``You're going to be over-amped. You've just got to learn how to control your emotions and stay within yourself.''

Oakland's Coliseum had about 20,000 empty seats for Games 1 and 2. A crowd of more than 55,000 is expected at the Metrodome on Friday.

``It's exciting _ playoff baseball,'' said A's first baseman Scott Hatteberg. ``I welcome that.''

The Twins don't plan to be as welcoming.

``There's an extra person on the field, and that's the screaming fans we have in the stands,'' Mientkiewicz said. ``It's a tough place to play.''