Beltran rallies Yanks, who hold on vs. Twins

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The Twins didn't go quietly in the ninth, with Eduardo Escobar and Kurt Suzuki clubbing back-to-back, two-out homers off Aroldis Chapman to cut the lead down to one before Trevor Plouffe grounded out to end the game. Lefty reliever Fernando Abad, the Twins' most consistent reliever for much of the season, struggled for a second consecutive outing and was charged with three earned runs in one-third of an inning after walking two and allowing a single to open the ninth.

Chapman nails down the save

NYY@MIN: Chapman seals Yanks' win with 13th save

Aroldis Chapman forces Trevor Plouffe to ground out to second, earning his 13th save of the season and sealing a 7-6 win over the Twins

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Two big swings: While Beltran's eighth-inning, opposite-field shot off Kevin Jepsen tied the game, Rodriguez's 695th career home run halved the Yankees' deficit against Nolasco in the seventh, an estimated 394-foot shot to right field. It also had some historical significance: the homer moved Rodriguez (5,795) past Babe Ruth (5,793) for sixth place on the all-time total bases list, and marked Rodriguez's 350th home run as a Yankee.

A-Rod's two-run homer

NYY@MIN: A-Rod launches two-run homer to right-center

Alex Rodriguez belts a two-run home run to right-center field, cutting the Yankees' deficit to 4-2 in the top of the 7th inning

Park leaves the park: After a Max Kepler strikeout with one out and a runner on third threatened to derail a promising scoring opportunity in the fourth, Byung Ho Park was able to cash in with a two-out, two-run blast to right-center field to extend Minnesota's lead to 3-0. The homer was projected to travel 401 feet by Statcast™ and was Park's sixth hit in 49 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Park's two-run homer

NYY@MIN: Park belts a two-run homer to right-center

Byung Ho Park launches a two-run home run to right-center field, extending the Twins' lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the 4th inning

Big Mike stumbles: Though Pineda tied his season high with nine strikeouts, the Twins forced him to deal with regular traffic on the basepaths. His 96th and final pitch came as he was charged with an error, colliding with Kepler while covering first base after a diving stop by Ike Davis. Park lifted a sacrifice fly facing former Twin Anthony Swarzak, producing the fourth run charged to Pineda.

Pineda strikes out nine

NYY@MIN: Pineda strikes out nine over 5 1/3 innings

Michael Pineda hurls 5 1/3 solid innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with nine strikeouts vs. the Twins

Eduar-dos: Escobar made it two straight games with a ninth-inning homer, barely nudging a 91-mph slider from Chapman over the wall down the left-field line to cut the Yankees' lead to 7-5. It was too little, too late to change the outcome, but Escobar has quietly put together back-to-back multi-hit games after seeing his playing time diminish.

Escobar's solo home run

NYY@MIN: Escobar belts a solo homer to left field

Eduardo Escobar smacks a solo home run to left field, cutting the Twins' deficit to 7-5 in the bottom of the 9th inning

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Park's two-run home run came on a 96-mph fastball from Pineda, marking his first hit of the season off of a pitch 95 mph or faster.

WHAT'S NEXT
Yankees: Nathan Eovaldi (6-3, 4.90 ERA) will try to regain the command of his splitter in the finale of a four-game series with the Twins on Sunday afternoon (2:10 ET). Eovaldi worked four-plus innings in his last start at Colorado, snapping a nine-start unbeaten streak.

Twins: Minnesota will turn to Ervin Santana (1-7, 5.10 ERA) in the series finale on Sunday at 1:10 p.m. CT. The right-hander has struggled through three June starts, posting a 7.79 ERA and allowing five home runs. He hasn't won a game since May 14 at Cleveland.

Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV.

Do-Hyoung Park is a reporter for MLB.com based in Minneapolis and covered the Twins on Saturday.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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Beltran rallies Yanks, who hold on vs. Twins