MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gary Sanchez was struggling since coming off the disabled list http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-jayson-werth-jersey , and the New York Yankees were off to a so-so September start.Facing the Minnesota Twins seems to be a cure-all.Sanchez had three hits, including a mammoth home run, J.A. Happ tossed six shutout innings and the Yankees continued their mastery of the Twins with a 7-2 win on Monday night.Could his first three-hit game since April 16 be a turning point for the catcher hitting .189?“I’ve hit the ball very hard all season and I haven’t got the results I wanted. If this is what it takes for me to find a good streak here or a good positive streak, yeah, why not,” Sanchez said through an interpreter.New York has beaten Minnesota nine straight times, including last year’s wild card game, outscoring the Twins 66-23. The Yankees are 20-4 in the teams’ meetings since July 25, 2015.The Yankees, 5-4 in the season’s final month Bryce Harper Jersey , increased their lead over idle Oakland to three games for the first AL wild-card spot.Happ (16-6) allowed six hits and struck out three. Acquired from Toronto on July 26, the left-hander has allowed two or fewer runs in six of eight starts for New York, going 6-0 with a 2.70 ERA.“I ran into a couple outings before I came over where I really wasn’t getting strike one as much as I needed to,” he said. “Tonight, I felt like I was ahead in the count a lot and kind of forced them to be aggressive and swing.”Kyle Gibson (7-13) allowed four hits and one earned run in 5 2/3 innings. He was one batter away from tossing six shutout innings before Sanchez crushed low 2-2 fastball 460 feet into the third deck in left field.“We’ve talked before about a guy’s sweet spot, and some guys like the ball down and that’s probably on the fringe of where he likes the ball the most,” Gibson said.Before the bomb, Sanchez was 3 for 29 since coming off the disabled list on Sept. 1.“You always feel like he’s a guy that can get it rolling, and when he does, he’s Stephen Strasburg Jersey , from a talent standpoint, one of those guys that can carry a club offensively,” manager Aaron Boone said.New York’s first eight batters reached base in a six-run seventh. Miguel Andujar had a two-run double and later scored on a double by Giancarlo Stanton, who had been in a 3-for-35 slump. Didi Gregorius doubled home Stanton.New York was 5 for 17 with runners in scoring position after going 4 for 35 in its previous six games.“Finally, a lot of really good at-bats to kind of break that game open. It was something I feel like we needed and glad that a lot of guys had a hand in it,” Boone said.JUDGE GETS HIS CUTSYankees slugger Aaron Judge took on-field batting practice for the first time since fracturing his right wrist on July 26.The session included home runs to multiple fields by the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year.“It went really well; another big step for him to get out on the field,” Boone said.After the game, Judge refused to put a timeline on his return.“I really don’t want to put myself in a box by setting a date and then not making it. . I just need to keep moving forward until the day I get out there.”TRADING GEMSTwins left fielder Johnny Field made a sliding grab in the fifth to rob Andujar of a hit and save two runs. Third baseman Andujar returned the favor in the bottom of the inning, snaring a sharp liner by Field.TRAINER’S ROOMYankees: 1B Luke Voit has been dealing with back stiffness for a couple of days and wants to play through it, but Greg Bird got the start.Twins: 3B Miguel Sano missed his fifth straight game with lower left leg issues — including a sore knee that he sustained sliding into second base last Tuesday. … 1B Tyler Austin went through hitting drills and took batting practice but missed his fourth straight game with a stiff back.UP NEXTTo provide extra rest for Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-gio-gonzalez-jersey , New York’s Sonny Gray (10-8, 4.96) is scheduled for a spot start on Tuesday. Removed from the rotation in early August, Gray tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his last spot start, on Aug. 25 in Baltimore. Minnesota will send RHP Tyler Duffey (1-2, 9.00) to the mound for his first start of the season.__ ATLANTA (AP) — Sean Newcomb is fighting for a spot in the rotation for the Atlanta Braves‘ hopeful march to the postseason.The way he’s been going recently at home, Newcomb is leaving doubt that he can handle the job.“It’s just more a mentality,” he said. “I’ve got to go out there and get right after guys and not worry about too much about what’s going on as far as what’s working and what’s not.”Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon hit two-run homers, 19-year-old rookie Juan Soto added an RBI single in the ninth inning and the Washington Nationals beat the Braves 6-4 on Sunday.Atlanta maintained a 6½-games lead in the NL East over second-place Philadelphia but has lost two straight following a season-best, six-game winning streak. The Braves are 38-36 at home, where they have lost eight of their last 11.Tanner Roark (9-15) allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings Anthony Rendon Jersey , and Sean Doolittle pitched a perfect ninth for his 24th save in 25 chances.Newcomb (12-9) made 31 pitches in the first and allowed five runs and six hits in three innings. He has lost four of five home starts since coming within one strike of a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Atlanta on July 29, and he has an 11.32 home ERA over that span.“I wasn’t commanding the fastball, so it was hard to get everything else going,” Newcomb said. “You could tell they were laying off pitches, waiting on their pitch to kind of do something with.”Washington built a 3-0 lead in the first when Harper hit his 34th homer and Ryan Zimmerman’s grounded into a run-scoring forceout. Rendon hit his 20th homer in the third to make it 5-0; he has reached safely in 25 straight games.Soto singled in the first to extend his on-base streak to 21 straight games, tying Mickey Mantle in 1951 for the second-longest by a teenager behind Mel Ott’s 22 in 1928. Soto is batting .357 during a 10-game hitting streak.“He’s been a blessing for us all year long,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “Just watching him play, he’s just out there having fun and playing the game the right way.”Atlanta closed to 5-4 on two-run homers by Tyler Flowers in the fourth and by Charlie Culberson in the eighth against Greg Holland.Roark’s streak of 27 2/3 consecutive innings without a walk ended in the third, and he struck out Freddie Freeman to strand two runners.Rendon dove to field a grounder at third in the fifth and jumped to throw off one leg to get pinch-hitter Preston Tucker at first. Late in the inning, center fielder Victor Robles ran hard to his left and chase down Ozzie Albies’ liner at the wall.But it was the Nationals’ offense that dominated the last two games. Harper just hopes Washington can stay in contention despite being 7½ games back of Atlanta.“It’s a bummer when we’re not winning ballgames http://www.nationalsfanproshop.com/authentic-daniel-murphy-jersey ,” Harper said. “That was the biggest thing on my mind. I’m not really worried about my numbers or anything like that because I am who I am. That sounds bad, but I am. Any given night I’m able to go out there and do some things for this team that are special, and I was able to do that again today.”TRAINER’S ROOMBraves 3B Johan Camargo missed his fourth straight game with left groin tightness, but manager Brian Snitker said he should be back in the lineup on Monday. … Atlanta RHP Arodys Vizcaino was not available after pitching a scoreless ninth inning Saturday, the former closer’s first appearance after he missed 55 games with right shoulder inflammation.UP NEXTRHP Erick Fedde (2-3, 5.12 ERA) will make his first career appearance against the Marlins when the Nationals begin a two-game series Monday at Miami. RHP Mike Foltynewicz (11-9, 2.66 ERA) will face 15-game winner Miles Mikolas when the Braves begin a three-game series against St. Louis.