NEW YORK (AP) -After the Minnesota Twins lost Game 1 of the AL playoffs, manager Ron Gardenhire was really looking forward to Thursday.

Not because his Twins would have a chance to catch up with the New York Yankees. Because they would have a chance to catch up on sleep.

``We get a day off tomorrow. Which is needed right now,'' Gardenhire said after Wednesday night's 7-2 loss at Yankee Stadium.

``A few guys come in and get some treatment. And pitchers, a couple of guys need to toss. But I think a day off for the most part would be pretty nice. Take a relaxing day tomorrow and then come back and have some good energy and go from there,'' he said.

The Twins barely had time to celebrate Tuesday night's win at the Metrodome over Detroit in the AL Central tiebreaker. When Carlos Gomez scored the winning run in the 12th inning, the Twins had less than 21 hours to pack up, head to New York and take the field.

``I think everybody was sleeping on the plane, to tell you the truth. It was just an emotional, full day. It was a long game. I think it was about five hours or something like that,'' Twins catcher Joe Mauer said before batting practice. ``You know, our wives and the whole team, everybody was on the plane. Everybody was smiling. All of a sudden we got in the air, and I think everybody was sleeping. I don't know what time we got here last night.''

The Twins actually got to their hotel about 4 a.m. Getting to sleep right away was a challenge for some.

``I think the hardest part was getting in as late as - or early, however you want to put it - as we did,'' losing pitcher Brian Duensing said. ``It kind of throws your whole schedule off, throws your mindset off a little bit. But to me, and I think to the entire team, I think we were ready to go. We didn't have a letdown or anything like that.''

``I didn't get a sense of it in the dugout or anything like that. I felt like we had a lot of energy, we were excited to be here and we were going to play well. Unfortunately, I let the team down and didn't give them a chance to win,'' he said.

Said Twins infielder Brendan Harris: ``It seemed like about 12-16 hours ago, we were popping champagne.''

The Yankees, holding home-field advantage throughout the postseason, had their choice of beginning the playoffs on Wednesday or Thursday. Fully rested and ready, they picked the earlier starting date - the series schedule includes a day-off between Games 1 and 2.

As for the Twins' exhausting day, ``That's kind of a popular excuse,'' Harris said. ``We had some chances, it just didn't work out.''

``Just slept as long as we could. Got moving about 11 or 12 and got to the ballpark about 1,'' he said. ``The adrenaline was still pumping from the win that we just had. So it was kind of hard to sleep.''

Mauer, the AL batting champion, went 2 for 4 against CC Sabathia and the Yankees bullpen, and wasn't complaining about the long day.

``Guys are tired. This isn't the time of year for that, to be worrying about that,'' he said. ``I think if you can't get up for that, you can't get up for anything.''

The Twins did not plan a workout for Thursday. They had other things to do before the series resumed.

``We all need to go home, get a good night's rest,'' said Twins pitcher Carl Pavano, who will start Game 3. ``We're going to be a little fresher, I'm sure, on Friday.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.