MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Kiermaier and Bo Bichette homered in the third of three runs, Kevin Gausman won for the first time in more than a month and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins 3-1 on Friday.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Kiermaier and Bo Bichette homered in the third of three runs, Kevin Gausman won for the first time in more than a month and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins 3-1 on Friday.
Gausman (3-3) allowed one run and struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings for his first win since April 23. Jordan Romano pitched the ninth for his 11th save.
“It sure was a great win,” said Gausman, whose team had lost nine of its last 11, all against teams in the AL East. “Any time you beat good teams in close games, I feel like momentum can help more than necessarily scoring 15 and winning by 14 or something like that.”
Kiermaier started the scoring with his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to right field with two outs in the third. George Springer followed with his second double of the game and scored on Bichette’s tenth home run, a 424-foot burst to center field.
“He’s really unique,” Toronto coach John Schneider said of Bichette. “It’s really good ball-hitting skills. He’s very rarely out of the barrel … He’s really been consistent all year. It’s a pretty unique skill set that he has.”
Louie Varland (2-1) pitched six innings for the Twins.
Minnesota’s declining lineup had just five hits and failed to convert nine walks. The Twins stranded 13 runners on base, their season-high for a nine-inning game.
“It’s tough. It seems like we’re in almost every game, but we can’t finish it,” said Minnesota shortstop Carlos Correa. “This speaks to the team. We have a very good team, we just haven’t been able to put together those clutch hits to give our pitchers a comfortable lead. There’s still a long season left, but we’ve got to get it going here real soon.”
Gausman sailed for five innings before his control gave up on him in the sixth. Alex Kiriloff and Edouard Julien walked, and Kyle Garlick’s RBI double spelled the end for Gausman.
Reliever Erik Swanson walked pinch hitter Joey Gallo on four pitches to load the bases, but struck out Michael A. Taylor and retired Donovan Solano on a groundout to end the threat.
TRUE NORTH HEADS SOUTH
Blue Jays fans usually travel well to see Canada’s only MLB team when it plays in northern cities. But with a perfect weather forecast for the US holiday weekend, there seemed to be as much royal blue in the stands cheering Toronto as there was navy blue Minnesota.
“When I got the first out in the first inning, everyone was freaking out, so that was great,” Gausman said. “That’s what makes playing for the Blue Jays unique. I’m sure if you went and talked to a lot of those fans, this is the only time they come to see us play, maybe every summer. Likewise in Seattle and Detroit. We have a unique opportunity, a team playing for an entire country”.
COACHES ROOM
Blue Jays: C Danny Jansen was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a groin strain. C Tyler Heineman was called up from Triple-A Buffalo to take his place.
Twins: Correa returned to the lineup after missing the past two games with soreness in his left foot.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Blue Jays: RHP Chris Bassitt (5-3, 3.03 ERA) will face the Twins on Saturday afternoon. In his last outing, the Rays snapped Bassitt’s 28-inning scoreless streak in a 6-4 loss.
Twins: Minnesota counters with RHP Pablo Lopez (2-3, 3.90), who is winless in four starts in May despite pitching with a 3.75 ERA in 24 innings.
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Patrick Donnelly, Associated Press
