BASEBALL PLAYOFFS : Twins Go With Favorite Son : AL Game 3: Scott Erickson says he is the same pitcher who got off to a fast start, but his manager and catcher don’t agree.

Before he pulls on his uniform and the black shoes that have become his trademark, before he reviews the opposing hitters or warms up in the bullpen, Minnesota right-hander Scott Erickson unfailingly observes one ritual.

He calls his mother.

“Her big words to me are ‘Good luck.’ I have to hear those two words,” said Erickson, who adopted the habit of phoning home the night before he pitched while at the University of Arizona. “She’ll say a few things if I didn’t do a good job the last time out. She used to go to all my games, so she knows how I pitch. If I’m getting the ball up, she’ll let me know.

“She’s said a few things about my motion, and she’s got a pretty good idea of my motion, because she’s seen me longer than anybody else. But it’s really minor stuff. She’s still a mom.”

Stephanie Erickson, a computer programmer for Lockheed in Sunnyvale, Calif., will be a proud mom tonight when her son, one of two 20-game winners in the American League this season, faces the Blue Jays at the SkyDome in Game 3 of the league championship series.

Besides trying to give the Twins a 2-1 edge in this series, her 23-year-old son will have a chance to prove that his right arm is no longer aching and can again throw the 90-m.p.h. fastballs that helped him win a league-high 12 consecutive games early this season.

Tenderness and a strained elbow forced Erickson to pass up the All-Star game and spend two weeks on the disabled list at mid-season, when his record was 12-3 and his earned-run average a sparkling 1.83. He was 8-5 after the break and finished with a 3.18 ERA, winning his 20th game in his last start, on Oct. 5.

Erickson insists he is the same pitcher now as he was early in the season, when he dazzled the American League, but those who watch him even more closely than his mother beg to differ. His velocity is off, they say, but add that he has offset that by evolving from a thrower into a pitcher.

“He wasn’t throwing 90, 91 (m.p.h.) like he was before,” Minnesota Manager Tom Kelly said of Erickson’s last few starts. “He’s not going to throw that anymore. Ninety, 91 is just too taxing on his arm. He’s 87, 88 now and he knows he has to keep the ball down. He knows he has to pitch more. Before, he was just busting it all over the strike zone.”

Junior Ortiz, who has become Erickson’s regular catcher since they were paired by chance last season and clicked, said Erickson has learned to pitch differently because of his arm problems. Not any less effectively or impressively, just differently.

“In the first half, he was a thrower,” said Ortiz, who will catch Erickson again tonight. “He was throwing everybody his fastball and he didn’t have a good breaking ball. When he was hurt, he learned how to pitch a little bit. Now he really has a good breaking ball and changeup.

“The first time I caught him I was impressed, not by the way he was pitching but by the movement of the ball. I’ve never seen a pitcher throw 140 pitches and maybe 110 are sinkerballs. He really has a live arm. He’s going to be a good, good pitcher for a long time.”

Erickson bristles at the suggestion that his injury forced him to modify his style, a rare show of emotion from someone admittedly reluctant to display his feelings to the world.

“I don’t see it that way,” he said. “I don’t think (Kelly) has seen enough of me to make that evaluation. I threw the same way last year, but my arm just got tired. . . . It’s basically arm strength I was concerned about. After the injury, I was a little more cautious. I didn’t have the snap on my slider that I had before and it took awhile to get it back. I had to be patient that the velocity would come back, and I’m fortunate it came back when I needed it. It feels fine now.”

Besides his fastball, he has always been noted for his fierce concentration. “I’ve never seen a pitcher so much focused and prepared for every inning,” Ortiz said. “You can’t say anything to him on the mound. You can’t joke with him. It’s amazing how he does that.”

For Erickson, it’s simply a necessity.

“I try to keep my emotions intact and try to keep on an even keel out there,” Erickson said. “I’ve been a pretty laid-back, within-myself kind of pitcher.

“What it takes for me to be successful is for my mind to be on the game 100%. I just like to go about my business. As (for) looking in the stands, joking around, that type of thing, the guys know not to involve me in it.”

Being involved in postseason play for the first time helped soothe his disappointment over not being able to pitch in the All-Star game.

“I could have tried to pitch, but it was for the team’s benefit I take the rest in case we made the playoffs. I’m glad it worked out that way,” said Erickson, who was 1-1 against the Blue Jays with a 1.29 ERA this season and is 1-2 against them in his career.

Any lingering questions about his effectiveness will be answered quickly tonight. If Erickson is on, Ortiz said, “you see a lot of ground balls in the infield and you know he’s going to be tough.”

The only remaining question is whether his mother will take his next phone call if he doesn’t win.

“I hope so,” he said, smiling. “We’ll have to see. If I lose, it might take awhile before she talks to me again.”