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Twins cough up big lead in tough loss to Blue Jays

betsy helfand, pioneer press
·4 min read

TORONTO — For half of the game, Twins hitters could do no wrong. For the other half of the game, Twins pitchers could do no right.

In a game that looked as if it were on track to be a blowout, the Twins pushed across seven runs against Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman through the first three innings. They held a six-run advantage at one point.

And then things disintegrated. Twins pitchers did not throw a single 1-2-3 inning and couldn’t stop a resurgent Blue Jays offense in a 10-8 loss to Toronto at Rogers Centre on Saturday afternoon.

“We just couldn’t get outs,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.

The Blue Jays (18-21) scored three runs in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth and seventh innings to storm back. No pitcher for the Twins (23-16) went unscathed.

Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson was tagged for five runs, allowed a run in the second and two more in the third against the team that traded him away two years ago. He was forced out of the game before finishing five innings, allowing his second home run of the day and leaving with a runner on that eventually scored.

“(I was) throwing strikes when I needed to but not ultimately when I wanted to,” Woods Richardson said. “I take all that. It’s all me, especially that first half. There’s no way that we have that type of a lead and I don’t go out and finish and give my team the best chance to win.”

Cole Sands, who followed him, allowed a two-run home run to Danny Jansen, then ran into more trouble an inning later. He was lifted in the sixth with a pair on and a pair out for southpaw Steven Okert, who was brought in to face lefty Daulton Varsho.

In one of the game’s most pivotal plate appearances, Okert got two quick strikes on Varsho before issuing a seven-pitch walk, setting up a bases-loaded situation for the ever-dangerous Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

“That’s a big at-bat,” Baldelli said. “We would do the exact same thing again and bet on Ok again in that spot, but he knows and I’m sure he’s frustrated about that. That’s his job to go out there and face Varsho and get him out in the big spots.”

Guerrero Jr., who finished the day with four hits, then delivered a key blow, tying the game 8-8 with a two-run single.

It was Jay Jackson’s turn next, and the former Blue Jay didn’t fare well, either, surrendering a pair of hits and recording just one out before he was replaced by Caleb Thielbar.

Similar to Okert an inning earlier, Thielbar walked the first batter he faced, George Springer, to set up a bases-loaded situation. Ernie Clement’s single and Davis Schneider’s sacrifice fly put two more runs on the board, giving the Jays the lead.

“Obviously it’s frustrating for the whole bullpen there,” Sands said. “Any time we have a big lead like that, we want to be able to shut the door, and today obviously wasn’t our day.”

Much of the Blue Jays’ production came after the Twins’ own offensive outburst in which they again battered Gausman, who is one of the best starters in the game but historically has had trouble containing the Twins.

The Twins scored three in the first, tacked on another in the second and used home runs from Carlos Santana (a three-run shot) and Ryan Jeffers in the third and fourth innings respectively.

But their offense was then shut down entirely by a Blue Jays bullpen that has been among the worst in baseball. Sixteen consecutive batters were sent down in order before Max Kepler doubled with two outs in the ninth inning.

“There’s a reason why — I don’t know what the reason is — but there was a reason why we just couldn’t get them out,” Baldelli said. “No matter who we threw, no matter what good matchup we thought we might have had, they just kept coming, like we did early.”

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