MINNEAPOLIS — The Yankees’ visiting clubhouse at Target Field still carried the scent of stale champagne Tuesday, and the carpet remained damp from an early-morning cleaning after their playoff-clinching celebration.
But there was little evidence of any lingering celebration as the Yankees returned to work, beginning what their manager described as an “uphill battle” to catch the Rays for the division crown.
Cody Bellinger and Spencer Jones homered, while Max Fried delivered his strongest outing since returning from the injured list, powering the Yankees to an easy 8-1 victory over the Twins.
The only disappointment for the Yankees (88-63) came elsewhere, as the Rays continued to win behind another walk-off home run from Junior Caminero.
With 11 games remaining, New York stayed 3½ games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East. The Yankees’ path to the division title is becoming narrower by the day, though a pivotal four-game series against the Rays awaits next week.
For the moment, the Yankees focused on what they could control: continuing their dominance of the Twins (70-81), a familiar opponent they have routinely handled.
Bellinger gave Fried an immediate cushion before the left-hander ever stepped onto the mound, launching a two-run homer in the first inning to put New York ahead 2-0.
Fried made that lead stand, completing seven innings for the first time since April 22 and earning his first victory since April 27. He allowed one run on six hits, issued no walks and struck out six over 88 pitches.
In his fourth start since returning from a second IL stint caused by a left elbow bone bruise, Fried remained on a pitch count but looked considerably sharper than he did in his previous outing, when he failed to get through four innings against the Rockies.
The Yankees provided more than enough offense, collecting 14 hits against right-hander Bailey Ober and the Twins bullpen.
Every member of the starting lineup had at least one hit, with Bellinger reaching base four times and Heliot Ramos, George Lombard Jr. and Anthony Volpe each reaching three times.
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Jones delivered the crushing blow to break the Twins’ backs in the sixth inning, clobbering a three-run shot off lefty Taylor Rogers to put the Yankees ahead 7-1.
Before Jones swatted a sweeper 423 feet off him, Rogers had not allowed a home run to a left-handed hitter all season (in 133 plate appearances).
Jones, meanwhile, went deep against a lefty for the third time (of his 10 big league home runs), continuing to show he is worthy of starts against southpaws with plenty of them looming with the Red Sox in a likely AL wild-card series.
Earlier in the inning, Ramos had reached base for the third time by drilling an RBI double to the left field corner for the 4-1 lead.
Ramos, wearing No. 21 for the night to honor his fellow Puerto Rican on Roberto Clemente Day, went 2-for-4 with a walk while starting for Aaron Judge, who got the day off.
Ben Rice led off the game with another quality at-bat, roping the eighth pitch of his battle against Ober into right field for a single.
Bellinger then clubbed a 2-0 fastball down the middle over the high wall in right-center field for his 16th home run of the season and the 2-0 lead.
The Twins got a run back in the bottom of the second inning after Lombard was slow getting off a throw on a ground ball to shortstop by Royce Lewis, allowing him to reach for an infield single.
Lewis later stole second and scored on Emmanuel Rodriguez’s hard single up the middle with two outs, though Fried quickly erased Rodriguez with a pickoff to end the frame.
But Lombard made up for it in the next half-inning, shooting a single through the right side to score Ramos for the 3-1 lead.