ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Miguel Sano belted two home runs to lift the Minnesota Twins to a 6-3 win Sunday and series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.

In Sano's first at-bat, he sent a foul ball so high that it hit the roof at Tropicana Field -- becoming the first player to do so in fair territory in 19 seasons of Rays' baseball. The ball was eventually caught by third baseman Evan Longoria.

In the third inning, Sano changed the trajectory a bit and launched a three-run home run to left-center field for his 17th blast of the season to give Minnesota a 3-1 lead. He came back with a solo shot in the ninth for his second career multi-homer performance.

"Miggy had a big day," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He had a good week of work. ... I think (his pop) would have hit the roof if it was 30 feet higher. It didn't just barely graze it. He got a catwalk last year and the roof this year. ... Not surprising. He's a good candidate for that, him and Dave Kingman, but he's not around anymore."

The Twins (45-66) return home for a seven-game road trip having won eight of their last 11 contests, while the Rays (45-65) hit the road for a six-game swing. Tampa Bay will head to Toronto and then to the Bronx to face the New York Yankees, including Alex Rodriguez' final game Friday night.

"I think it was a good week," Molitor said. "There were a lot of good things. There were some things we need to do better, but overall when you go to Cleveland and down here to Tropicana and win a series, you take the positives more than the negatives."

Minnesota announced a roster move after the game, with INF Trevor Plouffe (fractured rib) activated off the disabled list after missing more than a month. To open up a spot, the Twins optioned rookie OF Byron Buxton to Triple-A Rochester. He was hitting .193 with one home run and 16 RBIs in 197 at-bats.

The Rays cut the Twins' lead to 5-3 in the eighth on a solo home run by Longoria, his seventh in seven games against Minnesota this season. Brandon Kintzler pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save.

"I think that one got away from us a little bit," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "I thought Matt Andriese threw the ball well, obviously one pitch he'd like to have back, the pitch to Sano."

Tampa Bay jumped ahead 1-0 in the first as Nick Franklin, who was batting second for the first time this season, reached on an infield single and took second on a wild pitch. Brad Miller's RBI single brought him in to open the scoring, though Twins starter Kyle Gibson was able to pick off Miller at first to end the inning.

Andriese got out of a first-and-third, one-out jam in the first inning, starting with Sano's high pop-up, but he wasn't as lucky in the third. He walked Robbie Grossman, gave up a single to Max Kepler, then the home run to Sano.

"It was just a matter of a one-pitch mistake," Andriese said. "Just didn't execute on a fastball to Sano there, and he hit it out for three runs. All in all, I felt pretty decent about my outing, but like I said, it was one pitch."

Tampa Bay closed the gap in the third, as Franklin hit a solo home run -- just his second this season -- to center to make it a 3-2 game.

The Twins extended their lead in the seventh, as Brian Dozier singled to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 16 games, then advanced on an error by Miller. Max Kepler's sacrifice fly to left field made it a 4-2 lead, and Dozier's RBI double made it 5-2 in the eighth.

Gibson (4-6) got the win despite allowing six hits and four walks in his five innings, holding the Rays to two runs. Andriese (6-3) took the loss, still lasting only 4 2/3 innings in his second start since moving out of the bullpen. He threw 76 pitches, up from 57 on Tuesday, with 49 for strikes.

NOTES: Twins 1B Joe Mauer remained on a torrid hot streak entering Sunday's game, going 14-for-25 (.560) on the road trip. He had six doubles, a triple and home run in that stretch. ... 2B Brian Dozier entered the contest with a 15-game hit streak, the longest of his career and the longest active streak in the American League. Only Carlos Gonzalez and Ender Inciarte, at 17 games each, have longer hit streaks in baseball. ... Despite an 11-10 record since the All-Star break, the Rays had baseball's best run differential in that span at plus-35 runs enteringSunday's game. They've allowed three runs or fewer in 17 of those 21 contests.