Carlos Correa homers in eighth, Twins hold off Yankees threat in ninth to win 4-3

NEW YORK — If there's any complaint about Carlos Correa's tenure with the Twins so far — perhaps a bit of an outlandish proposition considering his defensive prowess and clubhouse leadership has helped the team rebound from an abysmal 2021 to a playoff-caliber season a year later — it's that he has yet to really turn in a signature instance where he seizes control, commands the spotlight and substantiates his $35.1 million contract.

Thursday at Yankee Stadium still might not have been that defining game, since his game-winning two-run homer in the eighth didn't exactly qualify as clutch hitting with a runner on first and the score tied 2-2. But it was certainly a contender.

Correa — who switched from designated hitter to shortstop right after he delivered the home run — led the Twins to a 4-3 victory over the Yankees to avoid a four-game sweep by the American League East leaders.

The 69-67 Twins are now 1 ½ games back from Cleveland in the Central Division and have a chance to reclaim postseason position as they face the Guardians eight times in 11 days — both at home and away — starting Friday.

"It started with this one," Gray said of the playoff push after the Twins went 2-5 on the road, including against the White Sox, who entered Thursday tied with the Twins in the standings. "… Wasn't a great road trip for us most of the trip, but we needed to grab a win here at the end. And we collectively did that. … I truly feel like this, our best baseball, is still ahead of us, and it's going to be a fun run down the stretch."

Gray overcame a sore hamstring to go six innings, giving up seven hits, two runs and a walk while striking out seven. The runs came on one hit, Miguel Andujar's two-run homer in the second inning to grant the Yankees a 2-0 lead. But the Twins tied it in the fifth on former Yankee Gary Sanchez's RBI double and Nick Gordon's RBI single.

But even after Correa's home run, the Twins couldn't help but make the ending interesting, from near bullpen disasters to base-running blunders. Jorge Lopez nearly derailed his fellow Puerto Rican's momentum, putting two on base in the bottom of the eighth before his wild pitch allowed a run to score.

Caleb Thielbar helped end that trouble with a strikeout, but then he and Michael Fulmer combined to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth with just one out. Fulmer, though, put up a strikeout and induced a groundout to earn his third save.

"That's a team game right there. We had to do a lot of different things. We needed some different contributions," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. "… There were so many things going on in the series as a whole. Ending it like this, I think it was really nice for us."

Gray and Baldelli praised Correa for his impact on the team, on and off the field. And while they enjoyed seeing him take the offensive spotlight, the man himself wasn't quite as quick to indulge.

Beating the Yankees, though they have plagued the Twins for decades, doesn't rank high on Correa's to-do list since joining the Twins for 2022.

"That will be when we make the playoffs. That's what I strive for," Correa said of his marquee moment. "… I look at the ultimate goal, and that's where you stand when October comes. And that's our focus right now. So we've still got a chance to win the division. And I'm not going to talk about signature moments when we haven't accomplished what we set out to accomplish in spring training."