A couple home runs spoiled Phil Hughes’ outing against his former teammates as the Twins lost a series opener at Target Field.

Carlos Beltran gave the foundering Yankees a jolt with a three-run homer Thursday night, lifting Masahiro Tanaka to his major league-leading 12th win and helping New York end a season-worst five-game skid with a 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Zelous Wheeler homered in his big league debut after eight years in the minors. David Robertson notched his 19th save with a hitless ninth inning and the Yankees started an 11-game road trip with a sigh-of-relief performance that put their record back at the .500 mark.

Phil Hughes (8-5) was rolling right along against his former team, leading 2-0 until Beltran’s big hit cleared the tall wall above right field following consecutive singles to start the fifth. Wheeler went deep two batters later.

Tanaka (12-3) allowed a season-high four runs.