MINNEAPOLIS -- Just when it looked like the Yankees were going to earn another victory over the Twins, Josh Donaldson and Nelson Cruz struck,
Donaldson hit a tying two-run homer off Aroldis Chapman, and Cruz followed with a winning homer two batters later, and the Twins shocked the Yankees with a 7-5 victory on Thursday night.
The Twins needed only nine pitches from Chapman to avoid the sweep, which would have been the Yankees' first in Minnesota since 2013. Jorge Polanco singled, Donaldson homered on a 1-0 pitch, pinch hitter Willians Astudillo — who might have ended up playing center field had the game gone extra innings — singled and Cruz blasted the first pitch he saw over the fence in center.
Giancarlo Stanton hit his third home run of the series, and Gio Urshela tripled and homered for the Yankees, but it wasn't enough for New York to earn its eighth consecutive victory over the Twins.
