Wells' 3-hit shutout leads Yankees past Twins 2-0

NEW YORK -- David Wells often reminds us that he's not perfect.

But isn't he? His late-night run-ins with fans in bars and diners, his couch-potato physique, even the title of his infamous autobiography ("I'm Not Perfect") have combined to make Wells the perfect New York anti-hero.

Yankees fans love him. His teammates and manager love him -- when he puts down his pen, picks up a ball and throws strike after strike and wins ballgames with a frequency nearly unmatched in Yankees history.

Thursday, Wells threw a three-hitter and was backed by Hideki Matsui's third-inning, two-run double as the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins, 2-0, before an announced crowd of 29,255 at chilly Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees are 8-1 in their 162-game warmup known as the regular season. Their top four starters, including Wells, are all 2-0. This after a spring training in which Wells' apparently fictionalized autobiography cost him a $100,000 fine and the affection of his closest pinstriped pal, owner George Steinbrenner. The Boss might be shunning Wells, but Yankees fans aren't, as evidenced by their mitten-muffled applause as he trudged off after each quick and effective inning.

"They love Boomer," said Manager Joe Torre. "They love what he represents ... in spite of what he says. He's their blue-collar representative. He goes after people. Plus, he wins baseball games."

That he does. Wells, at 55-21, has the second-best winning percentage (.724) in Yankees history among pitchers with a minimum of 50 starts.

Johnny Allen, who played with Wells' role model, Babe Ruth, is first at .725 (50-19).

"You try to get strike one, strike two and try to make things happen," said Wells, who walked none, hit two batters and fanned six, including Corey Koskie for the final out. "It makes me feel more comfortable to come in here and pitch where I feel welcome. The fans know I respect them and they respect me."

Ah, respect. Some say it's more important than love. Wells wants to be loved, but his teammates found that hard after his book's sensational, and then retracted, revelations. But they do adore his economy: Wells needed just 96 pitches, 72 for strikes, in a game that took two hours and 22 minutes. It was the Yankees' third straight sub-three-hour game.

Apparently, good pitching and frost-bitten fingers stop good hitting.

Or in the Twins' case, bad hitting; Minnesota has scored just 24 runs in its first nine games (2.7 per).

"When you get cold weather like this," Wells said, "you get in a guy's kitchen, he's going to feel it."

Wells allowed a double to Chris Gomez in the fourth, and singles to Gomez in the sixth and Koskie in the seventh.

The only time it seemed Wells was in jeopardy was with two outs in the fifth, when he hit A.J. Pierzynski with a sidearm 0-and-2 pitch and watched third baseman Todd Zeile boot a grounder. But shortstop Erick Almonte made a nifty catch and flip of a Luis Rivas bouncer up the middle for a forceout to end the inning.

MINNESOTA NEW YORK

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Mohr lf 4 0 0 0 ASrano 2b 3 0 0 0

Gomez ss 4 0 2 0 Zeile 3b 4 0 0 0

Mntkw 1b 4 0 0 0 JaGbi 1b 2 1 0 0

THnter cf 4 0 0 0 BWllms cf 4 1 3 0

Koskie 3b 4 0 1 0 Matsui lf 4 0 3 2

LeCroy dh 3 0 0 0 Mndesi rf 4 0 0 0

Przyns c 1 0 0 0 NJhnsn dh 4 0 1 0

Cddyer rf 3 0 0 0 Flherty c 4 0 2 0

Rivas 2b 3 0 0 0 EAmte ss 4 0 1 0

Totals 30 0 3 0 Totals 33 2 10 2

Minnesota 000 000 000 -- 0

New York 002 000 00x -- 2

E--THunter (1), Zeile (1). DP--Minnesota 1, New York 1. LOB--Minnesota 5, New York 10. 2B--Gomez (1), Matsui (3), Flaherty (1).

IP H R ER BB SO

Minnesota

RReed L,0-2 4 6 2 1 2 2

Santana 4 4 0 0 0 8

New York

DWells W,2-0 9 3 0 0 0 6

HBP--by RReed (ASoriano), by DWells (Pierzynski 2).

Umpires--Home, Tim Welke; First, Chuck Meriwether; Second, Gary Cederstrom; Third, Mark Wegner.

T--2:22. A--29,255 (57,478).