The New York Yankees wouldn't dare lose to the Minnesota Twins and miss an opportunity for a rematch versus the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series.

One game away from clinching a return trip to the ALCS, the Yankees fell behind 5-1 to the Twins in Game 4 of their Division Series Saturday at the Metrodome. A solo homer by Henry Blanco and a two-run double by Lew Ford in the fifth inning increased Minnesota's advantage, and the Twins were seemingly on their way to a trip back to the Bronx for the deciding fifth game.

However, with a major league record 61 come from behind wins during the regular season and already rallying from deficits twice in this series, the Yankees were bound to bounce back again. And true to the Yankee mystique, they did.

Bernie Williams singled in Gary Sheffield in the eighth and later in the frame Ruben Sierra belted a three-run homer off Juan Rincon to tie the game.

The Yankees wasted a golden opportunity to take the lead in the ninth. Alex Rodriguez was left at third and Hideki Matsui at second following a strikeout by Jorge Posada. Earlier in the inning both runners had advanced a base courtesy of a passed ball by Pat Borders. Another miscue by Borders in the 11th inning would haunt the Twins.

Rodriguez doubled down the left field line with one out in the 11th and then stole third after getting a great jump on Kyle Lohse's delivery to set up the winning run. Lohse then threw a pitch low in the dirt, which Borders couldn't handle and the ball kicked away, allowing Rodriguez to score.

"Once I got on there against Lohse, I felt we had to go get the game," Rodriguez said. "It wasn't going to come to us."

Rodriguez hit .421 (8-for-19) in the series with a homer and three RBI, but also played solid defense and contributed in other ways that caught the attention of manager Joe Torre.

"Statistics are one thing, but trying to win a game is another thing," Torre said. "Statistics will probably be what a lot of people look at when they look at A-Rod after he's finished playing, but you really have to appreciate how talented he is, and how many instincts -- the instinct he has really works for him, and today was a perfect example. He manufactured that last run all by himself."

Mariano Rivera then closed the game out by retiring the side in order in the bottom of the 11th.

"I've never been around a bunch of guys that believe so much in themselves, one through 25," Rodriguez said. "I don't think one guy more than the other. I think we have 25 guys with big hearts, and no matter what the score is, you should hear the dugout. It felt like a college team out there. We felt we were going to win this game. It's just good to see."

Now it's on to the ALCS, which starts Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. Last year's ALCS ended in dramatic fashion in Game 7 when Aaron Boone's homer in the bottom of the 11th inning catapulted New York into the World Series. The Yankees would then lose to Florida in six games.

"It's going to be nuts," Torre said. "We played them 19 times, and last year, it was the last series, I anticipate it's going to be the same kind of emotional rollercoaster. I guess it was supposed to come down to this. Every single game during the course of the season just takes on a life of its own. I think it's going to be obviously electric again."

It seems the Red Sox, who swept Anaheim in three games in the ALDS, have been waiting a full year for revenge and a chance to win their first World Series since 1918. The headline on Friday's edition of the Boston Herald read, "Go Yanks, we want to kick your butts on our way to the (World) Series," indicative of how badly the Red Sox faithful yearned for a rematch.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are trying for their 27th World Series title. The Yankees, winners of seven straight AL East crowns, have won the AL pennant in five of the last six years, capturing the World Series from 1998-2000.

It was a chess game for both teams in the offseason and this year to obtain players to put themselves in position to win the AL pennant. The Red Sox traded for Curt Schilling, signed closer Keith Foulke, and dealt for Orlando Cabrera. The Yankees moved to get Kevin Brown, Gary Sheffield and Rodriguez.

The Red Sox beat the Yankees in 11 of the 19 meetings this season. This year's ALCS is the most anticipated maybe in baseball history, knowing what transpired last year and what's at stake for the Red Sox, and even the Yankees with their astronomical payroll.

"We know Boston and they know us as well as any other team," Rodriguez said. "It's going to be a great challenge and I have had a great appetite over the summer. I know they're going to come out ready, and so are we."