NEW YORK _ October had barely begun at Yankee Stadium, yet Luis Severino was finished.
Booed heavily as he walked off the mound in Tuesday night's first inning, the young right-hander had recorded just one out and yielded two home runs, throwing the Yankees into a three-run deficit.
Almost instantly, the Yankees answered back.
In the winner-take-all AL wild-card game, the Yankees swiftly re-energized the crowd with home runs and a stellar chain of relief pitching, taking them all the way to Division Series.
Chad Green halted the Twins' furious start, Didi Gregorius got all three runs back with a first-inning homer and the Yankees' greatest postseason hopes were restored in an 8-4 victory.
Brett Gardner lashed a fourth-inning solo homer and rookie slugger Aaron Judge belted a two-run shot in the fourth, a low, line drive blast to left field _ accompanied by shouts of "M-V-P, M-V-P" from the electric, sellout crowd of 49,280.
David Robertson's longest big-league relief outing _ a superb 3 1/3 scoreless innings _ was essential in carrying the Yankees to the best-of-five ALDS against the Cleveland Indians, beginning Thursday night.
But Tuesday night's rocky start was something of a worst-case-scenario for manager Joe Girardi, who asked his bullpen for an astonishing 26 outs.
Five pitches into the game, the Stadium's energy went from amped-up excitement to frustrated groans after Brian Dozier's leadoff homer, which was soon followed by cleanup man Eddie Rosario's line drive, two-run shot to right.
The Twins had runners at second and third, with one out, when Girardi called on Green _ who promptly struck out Byron Buxton and Jason Castro, preventing Minnesota from expanding its 3-0 lead.
Before the game, Girardi mentioned having "some concern" for youngster such as Severino, experiencing their first taste of postseason.
In veteran Minnesota starter Ervin Santana, "they have a pitcher that's pitched in a lot of postseason games and we basically have a rookie going out there," Girardi said. "But when I look at Sevy, he's handled everything. His best month was September, when it mattered most."
Wearing a hooded sweatshirt, Severino had a seat on the bench as the Yankees quickly mounted a comeback against Santana.
After Gardner led off with a walk and Judge singled to center _ hanging in on a slider and lining it to center field _ Gregorius tied it with one out, sending a fastball well into the right field seats.
Gardner's second-inning, solo homer to right gave the Yanks a brief, 4-3 lead, sending another charge through the crowd. And it fired up Gardner, too.
Dusted by a high-and-tight fastball in the same at-bat, Gardner's trip around the bases began with a glare at Santana, who lasted just two innings and was charged with four runs.
Green was charged with the tying run in the third, but Greg Bird's two-out, RBI single off Jose Berrios scored Gary Sanchez (double) for a 5-4 lead.
And then it was Judge's turn to thrill the crowd again.
In the fourth inning, Gardner singled to left on an 0-and-2 pitch and Judge followed with his low rocket into the first row of left field seats.
Playing in his first postseason game, the usually reserved Judge shouted with glee as he passed first base, celebrating the Yankees' 7-4 lead.
Judge hit an MLB rookie record 52 home runs this season, but that clout helped send the Yankees to their first postseason series since the 2012 AL Championship Series against Detroit.
Girardi avoided Dellin Betances, who had a shaky September, and Tommy Kahnle's sharp 2 1/3 scoreless innings allowed Aroldis Chapman to close out the ninth.
The Twins were further compromised when Buxton was forced to exit in the fourth inning, due to upper back tightness. Buxton slammed his back into the center field wall, making a sensational catch on Todd Frazier's drive with none on base in the second.
Of course, it all could've unraveled early due to Severino's shaky command.
Sonny Gray, Masahiro Tanaka or CC Sabathia might have been considerations, but "you give the ball to the guy that's been the best all year," general manager Brian Cashman said before the game. Severino has "earned the right. He's earned the trust. Obviously, Joe's got a lot of choices behind him if he wants to deploy that whenever."
"Whenever" arrived earlier than expected. But the Yankees still found a way to advance.
