New York Yankees

StaTuesday: Twins offense hits another milestone vs. Yankees

Published Jul. 23, 2019 12:47 p.m. ET

New York Yankees veteran CC Sabathia has been a problem for the Minnesota Twins throughout his 19-year career.

Sabathia has racked up 20 total wins against the Twins; Nine at Target Field, six at the Metrodome, two in the playoffs and one en route to the 2009 World Series.

The veteran left-hander, who turned 39 on Sunday, has a 3.24 ERA in 40 career starts against Minnesota with four complete games and two shutouts.

In what was very likely his final appearance in Minneapolis, Sabathia couldn't hang with the "Bomba Squad."

The Twins homered four times against the former Yankees ace, chasing Sabathia in six innings, then tacking on one more off reliever Luis Cessa.

They remain on pace to shatter the Yankees' single-season home runs record -- 267, set last season -- and become the first 300-homer club in major-league history with 306.

Hitting coach James Rowson's squad reached another milestone Monday. They've now hit five-plus home runs eight times this year, tying the 1977 Boston Red Sox for the most such games in a single season.

Only eight teams total have ever done it more than five times.

Team	Year	5+ HR games
MIN	2019	8
BOS	1977	8
OAK	1996	7
LAD	2018	7
BAL	2016	7
OAK	2019	6
NYG	1947	6
BAL	1996	6
19 teams	N/A	5

They blew past the previous Twins record -- five games, set by the 2017 Twins -- back on May 23 with a 16-7 clubbing of the Los Angeles Angels.

They're up to 12 games with four-plus home runs -- tying the 1964 Twins for the most such games in team history -- and need seven more to match the 2017 Baltimore Orioles for the most in a single season.

Third-year catcher Mitch Garver led the way, homering twice for just the third time in his major-league career. His career 1.059 OPS is now in pretty ridiculous territory.