That seemed to be epitomized by the pitching matchup in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Wednesday, with Twins rookie left-hander Brian Duensing facing off against Yankees ace CC Sabathia.
While Duensing held his own for the early part of the contest, New York slowly got to the southpaw as it tagged him for five runs over 4 2/3 innings in a 7-2 Minnesota loss at Yankee Stadium.
One night after celebrating perhaps the greatest regular-season win in Metrodome history to catapult them into the playoffs, the Twins appeared to come out with the same energy and intensity early on in Game 1.
Duensing looked solid over his first two innings, yielding just a leadoff single to Derek Jeter in the first before retiring seven straight batters.