Twins top Yankees 6-2, clinch season series for first time since 2001

It didn't matter that he was coming off a feel-good game vs. Washington that included his 300th career victory, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli made it clear entering this week's home series vs. the Yankees that his ball club was a work in progress in its mental approach at the plate.

All Baldelli's players needed, it seemed, was to again face an opponent that historically had their number.

A recent stretch of six losses in seven games already felt a bit farther in the rear-view mirror after a 6-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Tuesday night at Target Field. It was the Twins' third win in a row — and second straight vs. New York that secured their first season series triumph over the Yankees since 2001.

"I'm just glad about the way we're playing baseball right now," Baldelli said. "There might be some people, whether it be fans or maybe people within the organization that are especially pleased with the way this series has gone so far. But we have so many games to play … we're expecting bigger highlights this year from our group than this series."

The Twins (14-10) capped another brisk Minneapolis night by taking control after just three hits through the first four innings. They surged ahead when Jorge Polanco's leadoff double opened a four-hit, four-run sixth inning, which included Byron Buxton's two-run home run to break a 2-2 tie. Trevor Larnach's 420-foot bomb to center stretched it to a four-run lead.

"I don't think we're even close," Buxton said. "We're clicking, but we ain't there yet. We all know that. Like, we're still trying to find our swings a little bit. That's kind of the fun part."

As much as the Twins' bats were responsible for snatching the momentum late, Joe Ryan made it back-to-back hats-off performances from Minnesota's starters.

A 6-1 victory Monday against New York was bolstered by Sonny Gray's seven innings of shutout pitching brilliance to give him an MLB-leading 0.62 ERA.

On Tuesday, Ryan (5-0) became the first Twins pitcher to win his first five starts in a season since Jerry Koosman in 1979; he also became the first five-game winner in the majors. Ryan also beat the Yankees to open the series in New York on April 13, an 11-2 win. This one started much differently, though. He gave up more hits through two innings (four) than he did in that entire prior appearance vs. New York. But Ryan ended strong by allowing just one run with seven strikeouts and no walks in seven innings.

Lefthander Nestor Cortes (3-1) picked up his first loss of the season, giving up four runs and five hits in five innings for the Yankees (13-11).

Minnesota's infield defense has been a strength, but it failed Ryan getting out of the fifth inning unscathed. Aaron Hicks reached home to tie the game 2-2 after an error by Donovan Solano, who bobbled a 5-4-3 double-play opportunity on Aaron Judge. The Yankees had outhit the Twins 7-3 at that point.

"People are going to make mistakes," Ryan said. "You just have to keep playing baseball and keep getting after it."

On Monday, Baldelli had talked about the challenge of "guys having the right ideas but only a few of them are bringing it into the game." But he noticed they were showing big improvement lately. "The team has been playing well and has certainly shown up well the past two days," he said Tuesday.

Not long after Solano's double hugged the left-field line for the 1-1 tie in the third inning, it was Polanco's clutch double that provided the go-ahead run for his sixth RBI in his fifth game back from a knee injury. Polanco was scorching remaining at the No. 3 spot with four hits and four RBI combined in the past two games.

The Twins were taking what they could get and not "trying to do anything heroic," Baldelli said about earlier this season. But their aggressiveness and confidence has grown in this series — a trend that just might be contagious Wednesday to finish off the Yankees series.