ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Anaheim Angels went with a 23-year-old rookie against Minnesota's ace.

	John Lackey allowed three hits and struck out seven.

The rookie won -- with the best outing of his brief career.

John Lackey allowed three hits in seven shutout innings Saturday as Anaheim beat the Minnesota Twins 7-1 to take a 3-1 lead in the AL championship series.

"For a youngster who was in the minor leagues 3½ months ago to come up and do that is incredible,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Lackey, who walked none and struck out seven, came out after Anaheim got two runs in the seventh off Brad Radke to snap a scoreless tie.

The Angels broke the game open with five more runs in the eighth.

Lackey said he benefited from a game against Oakland on Sept. 11, when he allowed seven hits and five earned runs in 4 1-3 innings of a 6-5 loss.

No rookie nerves

Rookie John Lackey and Francisco Rodriguez have been big keys for the Angels so far in the postseason. Here are some other rookie pitchers in recent years who made an impact in the playoffs: Orlando Hernandez, 1998 Yankees OK, not a rookie in age, but he had the biggest win in the Yankees' title run, winning Game 4 of the ALCS with seven scoreless innings when the Yankees trailed Cleveland in the series, 2 to 1. Also won Game 2 of the World Series. Livan Hernandez, 1997 Marlins Entered the postseason rotation only after Alex Fernandez blew out his arm in the NLCS, but was named MVP of the NLCS and World Series, going 2-0 in each series. Two other Marlins rookies, relievers Antonio Alfonseca and Felix Heredia, combined for 11.2 scoreless innings in the World Series. Jaret Wright, 1997 Indians Beat the Yankees twice in the ALDS and won Game 4 of the World Series ... and almost won Game 7, when he left with a 2-1 lead. Tim Wakefield, 1992 Pirates Had two complete-game wins in NLCS against the Braves, but Pittsburgh lost in seven games. Tim Belcher, 1988 Dodgers Went 3-0 between the NLCS and World Series. Calvin Schiraldi, 1986 Red Sox Oh, wait ... --ESPN.com

"I think I learned how to kind of step back and try to think of the game as just another game and not try to put too much importance on it,'' Lackey said. "I think I've been pretty relaxed most of the season. I think the only time I was really a little too hyped up was against the A's.''

The Twins never got a runner to second base against Lackey, who went to a three-ball count only twice.

"We have all the confidence in the world in John,'' Angels pitching coach Bud Black said. "He came up and won a lot of games for us. Here's a guy who really solidified the pitching staff, he was a vital cog in our rotation.''

Selected by Anaheim in the second round of the 1999 draft, Lackey went 9-4 with a 3.66 earned-run average in 18 starts for the Angels this season after being recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake, where he was 8-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 16 starts.

He made his big league debut June 24, allowing seven hits and three runs in seven innings at Texas in a game the Angels lost 3-2.

Lackey retired his first six batters before Dustan Mohr singled to start the third. A.J. Pierzynski grounded into a force, then tried to steal on the first pitch to Luis Rivas but was thrown out easily.

Rivas singled before Jacque Jones lined to first to end the inning.

Jones was the first of 12 straight batters retired by Lackey, who allowed a two-out single by David Ortiz in the seventh before Torii Hunter grounded into a force play.

Lackey threw 79 pitches -- 55 for strikes. His seven strikeouts were one shy of a career high.

"Impressive, very impressive,'' Radke said. "It seemed like he was a veteran out there.''

Angels catcher Bengie Molina said Lackey went with the changeup more than he usually does, and it paid off.

"We just wanted to give them another look,'' Molina said. "He had everything working today.''

Lackey and his relievers continued the Angels' exceptional pitching -- the Twins have scored only seven runs in the series, and only two in the two games at Edison Field.

"The Angels are pitching us great,'' Pierzynski said. "They haven't made any mistakes. Everything we hit seems to be right at guys. It just seems like they're finding the holes right now and we're not.''

In his first postseason appearance, Lackey worked three shutout innings in relief against the New York Yankees on Oct. 4 in the division series.

The Angels trailed 4-1 when he entered, and he gave up RBI singles to the first two batters he faced, with the runs charged to starter Ramon Ortiz.

Lackey was nearly perfect after that, and the Angels wound up winning 9-6. They eliminated the Yankees the following day to advance to the ALCS.

"He came out there and was able to dominate the zone,'' Angels shortstop David Eckstein said. "It just proves he's a great pitcher.''

Lackey faced the Twins once before -- on July 15 at the Metrodome, giving up seven hits and five runs, three earned, in six innings of a game the Angels lost 10-8 after leading 7-1.

He didn't pitch well in his last four starts of the season, giving up 24 hits and 16 runs -- 11 earned -- in 19 innings.

But he made up for it when it counted the most.

"I'm not surprised,'' Angels ace Jarrod Washburn said. "I knew he had it in him. At the same time, you don't know what to expect coming in. He certainly exceeded expectations.''