"This time a home-run call went the Yankees' way, and for a while that made all the difference.

The Yankees pulled away in the ninth inning, but for a while Thursday's 8-4 win against the Twins hinged on an overturned, two-run home run in the first inning.

"It's almost like we needed to get paid back," first baseman Mark Teixeira said.

One night after a blown call cost the Yankees in Kansas City, Justin Morneau's reviewed and reversed homer seemed like karma. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire argued until he was ejected, but a televised replay showed Morneau's fly ball going to the right of the right-field foul pole. The umpires seemed to get the call correct. Those two runs off the board were the difference in the game until the Yankees got some breathing room with two runs in the ninth.

"I'm always a big believer that if you give CC (Sabathia) a lead, he's going to hold it," Teixeira said. "Because of that we were able to give him a lead in the next couple of innings, and he held it."

Sabathia got his first win since Aug. 1, breaking his first two-game losing streak of the season. Sabathia allowed 10 hits, but he also struck out nine through seven innings to improve to 17-7."