Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Mark Teixeira went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, two runs scored and two walks, carrying the Yankees past the Twins, 8-4, in the opener of a four-game series.
Nick Swisher added a two-run shot and Andruw Jones hit a mammoth solo blast for New York, which won for the sixth time in eight games to stay atop the AL East standings by a half-game over Boston.
CC Sabathia (17-7) struck out nine in seven innings and survived 10 hits and four runs -- three earned -- to end a two-start skid. Brian Duensing (8-12) surrendered 10 hits -- three homers -- and six runs over five innings to drop his fourth straight start. Ben Revere and Tsuyoshi Nishioka each had two hits and knocked in a run for the Twins, who were coming off a series win over AL Central-leading Detroit. Minnesota nearly began its 11-game homestand with a two-run lead in its first at-bat, but instant replay overturned Justin Morneau's home run down the right-field line. The reversal came a day after the Yankees had a home run hit against them incorrectly upheld by replay in a 5-4 loss to the Royals. Ron Gardenhire was ejected for arguing the review, another loss for a short- handed Twins squad that had to play catcher Joe Mauer in right field for the first time in the former AL MVP's career. Eduardo Nunez scored the first run on Brett Gardner's sacrifice fly in the second inning, but the Twins got an RBI single from Nishioka and a run-scoring groundout from Drew Butera in the bottom half. The lead was short-lived, as Curtis Granderson tripled off Revere's glove in center to open the third and trotted home when Teixeira hammered his 33rd home run of the season into the second deck in left field. Swisher and Jones went back-to-back in the fifth, with Swisher's also scoring Teixeira and Jones' clearing the third deck in left-center. "As soon as we got that lead, we felt good about our chances with our horse on the mound," Swisher said of Sabathia. Nishioka, Butera and Revere each singled to start the seventh, the latter bringing in a run to cut the deficit to 6-3. Trevor Plouffe reached on Nunez's error at third to load the bases, and Mauer lined a sacrifice fly to left to plate another run. Jim Thome nearly pulled the hosts within one run two batters later, but second baseman Robinson Cano, playing the slugger in the outfield grass, dove to his left to stop a sharp grounder, gained his feet and threw out the slow-footed Thome to end the inning. "We had some chances, but unfortunately we didn't get it done," Morneau said. Francisco Cervelli tacked on two runs in the ninth with a sharp liner off Danny Valencia's glove at third, scoring Jones and Nunez. Game Notes Before the game, the Twins honored Thome for hitting his 600th career home run earlier this week...Minnesota has not won consecutive games since July 26-27 at Texas...Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter went 2-for-5 and has multi-hit games in six of his last seven games, raising his average from .271 to .291...Granderson had three of New York's 15 hits...Sabathia had given up 12 runs over his previous two starts... The Yankees have won six of their last seven in Minnesota...Alex Rodriguez, recovering from right knee surgery, re- joined the Yankees in the locker room but was not in the lineup. He is expected to play for the first time since July 7 over the weekend.