Yankees 8

Twins 2

MINNEAPOLIS – To the slumping hitter every pitch looks like one Anacin, the strike zone is wider than the Gulf of Mexico, there are 15 fielders behind the pitcher and outfielders scale tall buildings.

So, when the slumping Jason Giambi punished a Kyle Lohse pitch in the first inning yesterday there was a small thought in the back of his mind that Torii Hunter would find a way to elevate over the center-field fence and deny him of a three-run homer.

“I thought he might,” Giambi said of the Twins’ nimble All-Star center fielder known for robbing homers with exciting leaps into fences.

However, Giambi’s blast was far enough to rattle around a set of unused seats behind the 408-foot sign and set the stage for an 8-2 Yankees win over the Twins in front of an intimate Easter Sunday gathering of 18,818 at the Metrodome.

Everybody knows the Yankees have roared to a franchise-best start of 15-3 without Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Steve Karsay. While they are out of sight in Tampa, Giambi has been invisible without leaving the lineup.

He started yesterday’s action with an embarrassing .180 batting average, hadn’t homered since April 4, was hitless in 11 at-bats, fighting a 5-for-34 (.147) slide and batting .235 (4-for-17) in the clutch. Sure, he was tied for second in the AL with 16 walks. But Giambi didn’t command $120 million two years ago to draw passes.

Yesterday Giambi looked like the vicious hitter he is. Not only did he hit a three-run homer, he lined into a double play and ripped a single off Mike Fetters’ glove.

So what got Giambi going? Was it having his father, John, on the field watching during batting practice and available for a chat? Was it something hitting coach Rick Down said? Or was it simply time for Giambi to emerge from an April nap?

“The last couple of days I felt good during BP,” Giambi said. “We have been working on some things, cleaning up a few things with my bat passing [through the zone] and striking [the ball].”

When Giambi’s blast cleared the fence, Bernie Williams could see the life start to leave the Twins, who have dropped 12 straight to the Yankees. Not only did it put Lohse in a 3-0 hole before he registered an out, Twin-killer Mike Mussina was on the mound for the Yankees, looking to improve his record against them to 20-2.

“It was like, ‘Here we go again,’ ” said Williams, who hit an opposite-field, two-out homer to left in the third.

The Yankees scored five more runs after Giambi’s fourth homer. While they were appreciated by Mussina, they weren’t necessary for him to improve to 4-0.

“That was big for all of us,” said Mussina, who allowed two runs and five hits in seven innings.

Mussina’s victory means Yankee starters are 13-0. According to Elias Sports Bureau, that’s the first time since 1900 a group of starters has opened the season with that mark.

Williams, who went 2-for-5 and has homered in two straight games, was delighted to see the man hitting in front of him flex his muscles.

“It was great to see,” Williams said of Giambi’s homer. “In order for us to be successful he has to be one of the guys to pull the load. The team is designed for him. He is the No. 3 hitter. He wants to get going and the homer is a step in the right direction.”