NEW YORK - By every indication, the Yankees have every gear churning towards October.
Alex Rodriguez may be finally out of his extended slump, the lineup is pounding out runs with ease and the team is getting stellar starts from pitchers they knew basically nothing about.
Those elements added up to a 10-1 win over the Twins in Sunday's series finale, putting the Yankees ahead of the Red Sox by nine games in the American League East.
Carson High graduate Darrell Rasner, who had only logged nine Major League innings, including 1 2/3 innings with the Yankees on June 1 in Detroit, baffled the Twins.
Rasner tossed six innings while allowing just four hits and one run. He didn't walk anybody and held the Twins' first five batters in the lineup hitless. The only run came off a Torii Hunter homer in the second.
"He gave us what we needed today," manager Joe Torre said. "He didn't seem to be overly excited today. We haven't seen him a great deal to know a great deal about him, but he seemed to be pretty business-like about what he was doing."
On Saturday, rookie Jeff Karstens also made his Yankee Stadium debut and tossed seven innings while surrendering two runs. Both he and Rasner will now end up in the bullpen, with Mike Mussina returning from injury.
Rasner was claimed off waivers from the Nationals on Feb 10. He had started just one game for Washington last season, giving up three runs in 7 1/3 innings.
When Rasner went on the 15-day disabled list on June 3, Torre said he expected Rasner's sore right shoulder to clear up in a few days. But on July 14, he was moved to the 60-day DL.
He was called up simply because the Yankees had an opening after playing a doubleheader Wednesday and needed another arm.
"It just took a little longer than we expected - a lot longer than we expected - but it all worked out," Rasner said. "I don't think it gets better than this. This is about as good as it gets, so I'm very excited about it."
After the Twins took a 1-0 lead on Hunter's homer in the second, the Yankees charged back with four runs in the third. Bobby Abreu tied the game with the second of his three doubles, then Jorge Posada gave the Yankees their first lead with an RBI single. Robinson Cano drove in two more with a double.
After A-Rod's homers, the Yankees took a commanding 8-1 lead. Rodriguez and Posada added RBI singles in the eighth.
Rasner got into some trouble in the third when the first two Twins hitters singled to put men on first and third with nobody out. But Rasner snared a comebacker with a dive and got the runner on third out in a rundown. He then induced a double play to get out of the inning unscathed.
"That was a tough inning," Rasner said. "I think it helped me build some momentum for myself."