Aaron Judge, Didi Gregorius and a brilliant bullpen have rescued New York from a rugged start, lifting the Yankees to their first Major League Baseball (MLB) post-season win in five years.
Gregorius' three-run homer tied the scores after Minnesota knocked out Luis Severino in the first inning.
A pumped-up Judge hit a two-run shot in his playoff debut and the Yankees beat the Twins 8-4 on Tuesday night in the AL wildcard game.
Brett Gardner also homered for the Yankees, who chased Ervin Santana after two innings and again knocked the Twins out of the playoffs.
Chad Green, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Aroldis Chapman combined for 8-2/3 innings of one-run, five-hit relief.
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New York open the AL Division Series on Thursday at AL Central Cleveland. The Twins have lost their 13th-consecutive post-season game, equalling the record set by Boston from 1986-95.
Minnesota, the first team to rebound from a 100-loss season and make the playoffs the following year, have been eliminated by the Yankees in five of their past six post-season appearances and have not won a playoff series since 2002.
New York had made just one post-season appearance since 2012, losing the 2015 wildcard game to Houston 3-0. Just three Yankees who started that game were in the starting line-up, part of a Baby Bombers movement that purged the roster of veterans.
After a moment of silence for victims of the Las Vegas mass shootings, Broadway star Aaron Tveit asked fans to join him in singing The Star-Spangled Banner.
Players on both teams remained at attention on the field until the colour guard reached the foul line. Yankees pitcher Chasen Shreve, a Las Vegas native, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
