A look at the best-of-five American League division series between the Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics:

Schedule:@ All times Eastern) Game 1, Tuesday, at Oakland (4:08 p.m. ABC Family); Game 2, Wednesday, at Oakland (4:06 p.m. ABC Family); Game 3, Friday, at Minnesota (4:06 p.m. ABC Family); x-Game 4, Saturday, at Minnesota (TBA); x-Game 5, Sunday, at Oakland (TBA).

x-if necessary.

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Season Series:@ Oakland won 6-3.

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Projected Lineups

Twins:@ LF Jacque Jones (.300, 27 HRs, 85 RBIs, 96 runs), SS Cristian Guzman (.273, 9, 59), 3B Corey Koskie (.267, 15, 69, 37 doubles), DH David Ortiz (.272, 20, 75), CF Torii Hunter (.289, 29, 94, 23 steals), Doug Mientkiewicz 1B (.261, 10, 64), RF Michael Cuddyer (.259, 4, 13 in 112 ABs) or Dustan Mohr (.269, 12, 45), C A.J. Pierzynski (.300, 6, 49), 2B Luis Rivas (.256, 4, 35).

Athletics:@ DH Ray Durham (.289, 15 HRs, 70 RBIs, 26 SBs), 1B Scott Hatteberg (.280, 15, 61), SS Miguel Tejada (.308, 34, 131), 3B Eric Chavez (.275, 34, 109), RF Jermaine Dye (.252, 24, 86), LF David Justice (.266, 11, 49), 2B Mark Ellis (.272, 6, 35), CF Terrence Long (.240, 16, 67), C Ramon Hernandez (.233, 7, 42).

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Projected Rotations

Twins:@ RH Brad Radke (9-5, 4.72 ERA, missed 2 1/2 months with pulled groin), RH Joe Mays (4-8, 5.38, missed 3 months with elbow inflammation), RH Rick Reed (15-7, 3.78, 26 walks in 188 IP), LH Eric Milton (13-9, 4.84, missed a month with knee injury).

Athletics:@ RH Tim Hudson (15-9, 2.98 ERA), LH Mark Mulder (19-7, 3.47), LH Barry Zito (23-5, 2.75).

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Relievers

Twins:@ LH Eddie Guardado (1-3, 2.93 ERA, 45/51 saves), LH J.C. Romero (9-2, 1.89, 1, 81 appearances), RH LaTroy Hawkins (6-0, 2.13), LH Johan Santana (8-6, 2.99 in 27 games, 14 of them starts), RH Kyle Lohse (13-8, 4.23 in 31 starts), RH Tony Fiore (10-3, 3.16), RH Mike Jackson (2-3, 3.27).

Athletics:@ RH Billy Koch (11-4, 3.27, 44/50 saves), RH Cory Lidle (8-10, 3.89), LH Ricardo Rincon (1-4, 4.18, 1), RH Jim Mecir (6-4, 4.26, 1), RH Chad Bradford (4-2, 3.11, 2), LH Ted Lilly (5-7, 3.69).

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Matchups

Twins took two of three in Oakland in early July but were swept in three-game series there Aug. 30-Sept. 1 during Athletics' 20-game winning streak. Ended the streak with win Sept. 6 at Metrodome but were shut out in next two games by Mulder and Zito. ... Minnesota struggled against left-handers this year, batting .252, and will face two of the game's toughest in Mulder and Zito. ... Tejada and Chavez had big years against the Twins. Tejada batted .412 with three homers in nine games; Chavez hit .406 with six RBIs. ... Koch went 1-0 with three saves. ... The A's have a big power edge on the Twins despite playing half their games in the pitcher-friendly Coliseum. Oakland hit 205 homers this season to Minnesota's 167. ... Oakland had the lowest batting average in the AL when playing on artificial turf such as they'll see in Minneapolis. The A's hit just .236 in a league-low 12 games on the surface. ... Jones batted .357 (10-for (28)- against Oakland. Pierzynski hit .350 7-for (20)-, and Koskie hit .310 9-for (29)-. ... Guardado, a northern California native (Stockton), had two of his blown saves against A's and gave up five runs in 2 2-3 innings. ... Radke was 1-1 in two starts with a 1.20 ERA against Oakland.

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Big Picture

Twins:@ They've got the worst record of the four AL qualifiers, but this team has been on a mission since commissioner Bud Selig tried to eliminate them last winter. It would be easy to write off their first playoff appearance since 1991 as one of those happy-to-be-here deals, but the Twins know in back of their minds that the roster - most of them started playing together in the minors - might not be kept together for too long as their earning power goes up. ... Twins overcame a slew of injuries - their top four starters all missed outings for health reasons - and cruised to the division title. But their record against non-AL Central opponents was just 44-42. ... The Metrodome affords the Twins many advantages: opposing fielders often lose balls in the dirty ceiling; they know how to beat the ball into the lively turf and run around the bases; those Homer Hankies whip up the crowd; and, of course, it's noisy. All-time playoff record at the Metrodome is 11-1. ... The bullpen, thought to be a weakness in the spring, turned out to be one of the best in the league. Guardado, Romero and Hawkins will need to be every bit as good in the postseason. ... Reed and Jackson are the only players with postseason experience. Minnesota joins Anaheim as the first teams since the 1969 Mets to go into the playoffs without a position player with postseason experience.

Athletics:@ Got their third consecutive playoff berth despite the offseason departures of 1B Jason Giambi, OF Johnny Damon and closer Jason Isringhausen and one of the smallest payrolls in the game. After losing in five games in the first round to the Yankees the past two years, the A's are hoping to go farther this year. ... Oakland won the 12th AL West title in franchise history, clinching on the home field of the Mariners, last season's champs. ... Became the first AL team to post consecutive 100-win seasons since the Orioles in 1979-80. ... Tejada and Chavez for baseball's best duo on the left side of the infield. Tejada has shown a flair for the dramatics, delivering three game-ending hits in September. He also hit game-tying homer off Seattle's Kazuhiro Sasaki in ninth inning of division clincher. ... Manager Art Howe decided on a three-man rotation for the first round, forcing the Twins to beat Hudson, Mulder and Zito in a short series. ... Lidle, who had a spectacular second half as Oakland's fourth starter, is happy with his transition to a role as a right-handed setup man. ... Justice has played on 11 straight division winners - five with Atlanta, three with Cleveland, two with the Yankees and one with Oakland.

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Watch For

_ Three or four. After losing opening round to Yankees past two seasons with a four-man rotation, A's going with three starters this year. If the move doesn't work, expect Howe to be second-guessed.

_ Hunter getting hot. One of few pure right-handed hitters in the Twins' lefty-laden lineup that hit 30 points lower against lefties than righties. He'll need to come up with some big hits for the Twins to have success against Mulder and Zito.

_ Worn-down Koch. Showed some signs of fatigue after being worked harder than almost any other closer this year. Made 84 appearances and pitched 93 2-3 innings this year, but had 5.40 ERA in September.

_ Homer Hankies. The Metrodome might be the toughest - and loudest - place to play in the playoffs. Twins went 11-1 at home in 1987 and '91.