A's push Yankees to brink of elimination

NEW YORK -- Another night of stellar pitching, this time by Tim Hudson, moved Oakland within a win of ending the New York Yankees' latest dynasty.

Hudson overwhelmed the Yankees for eight innings, Ron Gant homered and the brash, young Athletics held off New York 2-0 Thursday night to head home with a 2-0 lead in their first-round AL playoff series.

After becoming only the fourth team to win three straight World Series titles, the Yankees must win three straight games to reach the AL championship series.

Oakland, beaten 3-2 by the Yankees in last year's division series, has won eight straight over New York going back to the regular season -- and the Yankees haven't led in their last 76 innings against the A's.

After surviving a ninth-inning scare, the A's head to a ballpark where they won their last 17 home games of the regular season. Barry Zito (17-8), another of the left-handers who have given the Yankees difficulty this year, starts for the A's on Saturday against Mike Mussina (17-11).

Hudson, backed by Gant's fourth-inning homer and a ninth-inning run on an error by Scott Brosius, held the Yankees to one hit in the first five innings, then escaped jams in the sixth and seventh.

Hudson allowed six hits in all before Jason Isringhausen took over to star the ninth.

Bernie Williams doubled off the glove of third baseman Eric Chavez leading off and Tino Martinez walked.

But Isringhausen recovered, throwing a called third strike past Jorge Posada and retiring David Justice and Brosius on popups for his second save of the series.

These are the types of October games New York has won in recent years, but age showed against the A's, unafraid of the Yankees' success, mystique and rabid fans.