MINNEAPOLIS -- When Aaron Judge connected for a two-run homer as the second batter of the game Tuesday at Target Field, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if the New York Yankees had all the runs they needed.

After all, New York’s starting pitching had been on an incredible run, allowing two runs or fewer in six straight starts. Also, the Yankees have dominated the Minnesota Twins over the years.

Instead, Jameson Taillon struggled and Minnesota’s offense kept pace.

Then Judge and the Yankees picked up Taillon and kept adding on in a 10-4 victory over the Twins to become the first team in the Majors to reach 40 wins this season. It was also New York’s seventh consecutive victory.

"Nobody has to feel like they have to do everything,” Judge said. “We can kind of go up there and just stick to our plan, stick to our approach. Hey, if we don't get a hit or get the job done that time, I know the guy behind me is going to pick it up. We were able to kind of do that tonight, where the bottom of the lineup is picking up the top and then when the top comes back around, we're kind of picking everybody up. So it was all around a good night."

Judge had a pair of hits, including his MLB-leading 22nd home run, and three RBIs. The Yankees’ three-time All-Star became the second player in franchise history to hit 22 homers in his first 53 games of a season, joining Babe Ruth, who did it twice with a team-record 24 blasts in his first 53 contests in 1928 and 22 in 1930.

Giancarlo Stanton added his 12th homer in a three-run first inning. Anthony Rizzo hit a three-run homer in the seventh for the Yankees, who survived an off night from Taillon.

The right-hander had his shortest outing of the year, tossing four-plus innings while allowing season highs with nine hits and four runs. Taillon, who took a perfect game into the eighth inning last time out, had given up two runs total in his three previous starts.

“We’ve been saying it all year,” Taillon said. “We can win in a lot of different ways, and tonight was just another one of those examples. I didn’t get my job done, but the bullpen and the offense definitely got their jobs done. Sometimes the starting staff’s going to carry us. Sometimes it’s going to be the bullpen. Sometimes it’s going to be defense. Sometimes we’re just going to bang.”

New York also committed a season-high three errors but won for the 11th time in 13 games. The Yankees are 35-4 when they score at least three runs. Every starter had at least one hit and they walked nine times.

"I think today was really not indicative of who we are,” said Josh Donaldson, who had a hit and a walk.

Donaldson, of course, is in his first season with New York after the March trade that sent Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela to Minnesota. He was booed by Twins fans when he came to the plate for his first at-bat.

“We played a little sloppy,” Donaldson continued. “We have a deep team; bullpen, offense is deep as well. Obviously, you don’t want to continue to play like that, but it was nice to pick each other up right there and still win that ballgame."

New York is 40-15 through 55 games. It’s the best mark through 55 games since the 2001 Seattle Mariners started 43-12.

It’s also the seventh time in franchise history that the Yankees have notched at least 40 wins in their first 55 games of a season, the last coming in 1998, when they were 42-13. In each of the previous six occurrences, New York has made it to the World Series.

"I love winning,” Judge said. “Our team's staying in first place. We continue to win, win in different ways. It makes it easier. Even if we go 4-for-4 or 0-for-4, it really doesn't matter. As long as this team's winning, we keep rolling, I think everybody in here's going to be pretty happy."

Winning against the Twins has also been a common occurrence. New York has won 19 of the last 24 games between the teams. Since 2002, including the postseason, the Yankees are 110-38 against Minnesota.