MINNEAPOLIS -- For decades, the New York Yankees have been known as the "Bronx Bombers."

On Friday night at Target Field, the Minnesota Twins looked the part. They belted four home runs and got a sterling performance on the mound from Phil Hughes in a 10-1 win over the Yankees.

Hughes, a former Yankee, pitched seven shutout innings, scattering seven hits (all singles) and walking none while striking out three.

For Hughes (9-6), who won 16 games a year ago and finished with a 3.52 ERA, it's the first time this season he completed a start with his ERA below 4 at 3.93.

"I tried to attack with my fastball (early) and got a couple of breaks. They were hitting the ball pretty hard early and I was able to get some outs out of them," Hughes said. "So I tried to incorporate more curveballs, changeups, cutters, anything I could to get them off balance. As the innings progressed, it seemed to work pretty well."

Minnesota provided Hughes with the support he needed in the early going against Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda, scoring two runs apiece in the first and fourth innings and a single run in the second.

Twins right fielder Torii Hunter had two hits, including a solo home run in the seventh inning. It was his 207th home run in a Twins uniform, tying him with Hall-of-Famer Kirby Puckett for sixth on the club's career list.

"That's a guy, early in my career, he gave me a lot," Hunter said. "Just to be mentioned as far as home runs, to tie him, is a special day for me. I always think about him and today I'm really thinking about him. It's emotional."

Third baseman Trevor Plouffe and left fielder Eddie Rosario had three hits apiece for Minnesota. Plouffe finished a triple short of the cycle and scored two runs. Rosario had three doubles, the first Twin with three two-base hits in the same game since Josmil Pinto in September 2013.

Minnesota, which opened a nine-game homestand, has the best home record in the American League and moved five games clear of the Detroit Tigers for second place in the AL Central, 5 1/2 games behind the division-leading Kansas City Royals.

"Guys have been really playing well at home," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "Just getting off to a good start tonight was a good way to start a long homestand for us."

Pineda (9-7) took the loss, allowing five earned runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked none, dropping to 1-4 in his last five decisions since June 22.

"The first couple of innings, I made a couple of mistakes with my slider," Pineda said. "That's going to happen when you make a mistake."

The Twins got their offense going early, taking a 2-0 lead in the first inning against Pineda.

A one-out single by Hunter set up designated hitter Miguel Sano, who blasted a 3-2 off-speed pitch over the wall in center field for his third homer of the season.

Rosario was credited with a double after a popup into shallow left field bounced off the glove of Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius to lead off the second. He scampered home two batters later when catcher Kurt Suzuki hit a sharp single up the middle.

Minnesota tacked on two runs against Pineda in the fourth for a 5-0 lead, getting a leadoff single from Plouffe and another double by Rosario, this one down the right-field line. Center fielder Aaron Hicks drove in Plouffe with a sacrifice fly to right and Suzuki ripped his second RBI single of the night into center field.

"(Pineda) made some mistakes with his fastball," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "He didn't locate well. It was a combination of things. Sometimes your stuff just isn't as sharp for whatever reason and tonight it wasn't."

Hunter's solo blast made it 6-0 in the seventh ahead of the knockout blow, a four-run eighth highlighted by Plouffe’s solo blast to lead off the inning, an RBI single by Hicks and a two-out, two-run shot by second baseman Brian Dozier, his 21st homer of the year.

New York scored its run in the ninth against right-hander Casey Fien on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury. The run was unearned and came after an error by Rosario allowed Gregorius to advance to second base on his one-out single.

"I thought we hit the ball a lot better than one run," Girardi said. "We hit the ball pretty hard. They just happened to be standing where we hit them."

NOTES: The Yankees were a season-best 12 games above .500 before Friday night's loss. ... The loss was just New York's second in its last 10 games at Target Field. ... The Twins improved to 8-1 in their last nine games at Target Field. ... Minnesota improved to 13-4 against American League East opponents this season. ... Twins OF Byron Buxton began taking dry swings and swinging a bat underwater as he recovers from a strained thumb. Buxton could take batting practice this weekend. ... The Yankees and Twins will play the second game of a three-game series at Target Field on Saturday. New York's CC Sabathia (4-8, 5.25 ERA) will oppose Minnesota's Tommy Milone (5-2, 3.38 ERA).