MINNEAPOLIS — At least for one night, the Yankees offense did actually heat up with the weather.
The Yankees had their biggest offensive outburst in nearly a month in an 8-4 win over the hapless Twins on a 95-degree night at Target Field on Tuesday.
They pulled away late, courtesy of a pair of ninth-inning homers from Gary Sanchez and Miguel Andujar, but before that, they were able to scratch out enough runs to be in position to snap their four-game losing streak.
“We haven’t been playing baseball for a week and a half,’’ Brett Gardner said. “It was good to break out a little bit. Hopefully we look back and tonight was the start of something special.”
Though the homers helped, the Yankees overcame going 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position by running the bases well and taking advantage of last-place Minnesota’s mistakes.
They went ahead for good in the eighth.
Clint Frazier, pinch-hitting for Rougned Odor to lead off against left-hander Taylor Rogers, singled, as did Andujar. The Yankees then went to the bench again, as Tyler Wade pinch-ran for Frazier. Gardner got down a sacrifice bunt to get DJ LeMahieu up with runners at second and third and one out.
With the infield in, LeMahieu grounded to second, but Wade raced home and beat the throw from Jorge Polanco to make it 4-3. Andujar scored on an Aaron Judge ground ball, as the Yankees took a two-run lead and turned it over to Chad Green.
It was a much-needed victory to open an 11-day, eight-game road trip, as the Yankees were in danger of falling to just one game over .500.
Aaron Boone called it “critical” that the Yankees find a way to produce runs when they aren’t displaying the power they expected.
“We haven’t been hitting homers as much as we do or putting up crooked numbers,’’ Boone said. “Sometimes it takes little things in the game. Everyone contributed in different ways.”
There were positive signs against a Twins team that is typically overmatched against the Yankees. But the Yankees’ recent 3-10 stretch also included a sweep at the hands of the lowly Tigers, so nothing can be taken for granted.
“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing,’’ LeMahieu said. “We need to start racking up wins.’’
On Tuesday, Jordan Montgomery gave up two runs in the bottom of the first to put the Yankees in another early hole.
Ex-Yankee Michael Pineda retired 11 batters in a row following LeMahieu’s double to open the game.
The Yankees loaded the bases with one out in the fifth.
Judge walked to drive in Andujar — who drew his first walk of the season — to get the Yankees on the board.
That proved to be Pineda’s last batter of the night, as right-hander Jorge Alcala came on to face Gleyber Torres and threw a wild pitch with a 1-2 count to score Gardner to tie the game.
Torres lined to short before Giancarlo Stanton grounded to short to keep it 2-2.
They loaded the bases in the sixth and Gardner hit a fly ball to left. Trevor Larnach threw home to try to get Sanchez, but Willians Astudillo cut off the throw and Sanchez scored to make it 3-2.
In the bottom of the inning, another former Yankee, Rob Refsnyder, drilled an RBI double to left-center, just missing a go-ahead homer. Refsnyder was removed with left hamstring tightness after the play.
With runners on the corners in the seventh, Gio Urshela popped out and Sanchez then struck out swinging to end the threat, as the Yankees struggled with runners in scoring position on the night.
But this time, they overcame it.
“It was kind of the offense we’ve been waiting for a little while,’’ LeMahieu said. “We’ve been showing flashes of it. We have to keep it rolling. We did a little bit of everything, kind of like we expect.”