Game #33 - Toronto Blue Jays (16-17) @ Minnesota Twins (14-20) - game recap-

 

Brandon Valenzuula hit a 3-run HR in an 11-4 comeback win over the Twins

After rebounding nicely from a tough loss Thursday, the Blue Jays evened the series with Kazuma Okamoto and Yohendrick Pinago driving the offense, the Blue Jays were looking to extend the winning streak to 2 games. Dylan Cease got the start with Brandon Valenzuela behind the plate. Davis Schneider was in LF and Myles Straw was in RF. Ernie Clement was back in the lineup and at SS. Could the Blue Jays make it 2 straight wins? Here is today's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Twins opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st as Byron Buxton led off with a solo blast to the opposite field in right
• The Blue jays tied in the top of the 2nd as Lenyn Sosa whacked a solo blast to left-center and into the Blue Jays bullpen
• Two batters later, Myles Straw belted a solo jack to the second deck in left
• The Twins retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Brooks Lee singled scoring Kody Clemens and Luke Keaschall. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was charged with a throwing error on the play.
• George Springer left the game in the top of the 3rd after fouling a ball off the toe he fractured.
• The Twins added a run in the bottom of the 5th as Trevor Larnach singled scoring Tristan Gray
• Connor Prielipp pitching line: 5IP 3H 2R (both earned) 2BB 4K 91 pitches (59 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays got one back in the top of the 6th as Kazuma Okamoto hammered a solo bomb to dead center
• Dylan Cease pitching line: 7IP 7H 4R (3 earned) 1BB 7K 106 pitches (66 for strikes)
• The Blue Jays tied it in the top of the 8th as Okamoto singled scoring Ernie Clement
• A batter later Sosa singled scoring Guerrero Jr.
• Three batters later, Davis Schneider doubled scoring Daulton Varsho and Sosa
• A batter later, Brandon Valenzuela hammered a 3-run bomb to straightaway center; also scoring Schneider and Straw
• Final score: Blue Jays 11 Twins 4

My Take:

• Dylan Cease fired 7 solid innings, giving up 4 runs, 3 earned on 7 hits while walking  1 and striking out 7. Cease is quickly becoming a very important part of the rotation with his ability to pitch deep into games and getting extra outs. He made the pitches when he had to in order to limit the damage in the jams he encountered. He probably regrets shaking off Brandon Valenzuela first batter he faced with Byron Buxton taking him deep.
• The bullpen threw 2 perfect innings
• The offense exploded in the 8th inning for 8 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks and a fielding error from Twins reliever Anthony Banda. Davis Schneider got a huge monkey off is back with a clutch hit in the 8th, snapping an 0-26 slump. Brandon Valenzuela capped the inning off with a bomb to dead center for 3 runs. Kazuma Okamoto homered for the second straight day.
• Every starter but George Springer and Vlad had a hit. Springer was the only one who neither scored a run nor drove in a run
• Don't be surprised if Springer goes back on the IL. He needs to heal completely before he comes back.
• The Blue Jays were 2-2 in ABS challenges. Davis Schneider had his first unsuccessful challenge of the season. The Twins didn't utilize any ABS challenges
• The Blue Jays were 4-7 with runners in scoring position
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to extend the win streak to 3 games, and notch their 5th series win and 1st season series win of the season. Trey Yesavage starts against Twins righty Joe Ryan.

Game #33 - Toronto Blue Jays (15-17) @ Minnesota Twins (14-19)

 

Game #32 - Toronto Blue Jays (15-17) @ Minnesota Twins (14-19) - game recap

 

Kazuma Okamoto hit a pair of home runs and drove in 3 runs in a 7-3 win over the Twins

After a loss yesterday from an uncharacteristically bad start by Kevin Gausman and a non-existent offense, the Blue Jays were looking to even the series and avoid their 4th season series loss of the season. Patrick Corbin got the start with Tyler Heineman behind the plate. Lenyn Sosa got the start at 2B. Could the Blue Jays even the series and avoid their 4th season series loss of the season? Here is tonight's game recap.

Game Highlights:

• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 2nd on a fielder's choice hit by Yohendrick Pinago that scored Daulton Varsho and Lenyn Sosa. Twins 1B Josh Bell was charged with a throwing error on the play.
• The Twins tied it in the bottom of the 3rd as Byron Buxton whacked a 2-run blast to left; also scoring Brooks Lee
• The Blue Jays retook the lead in the top of the 4th as Kazuma Okamoto hammered a solo bomb to the second deck in left
• Three batters later, Pinago singled scoring Sosa
• The Blue Jays added a pair of runs in the top of the 5th as Okamoto smacked a 2-run blast to left; also scoring Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
• Simeon Woods Richardson pitching line: 4.2IP 9H 6R (4 earned) 1BB 2K 88 pitches (60 for strikes)
• Patrick Corbin pitching line: 5.1IP 6H 2R (both earned) 1BB 4K 79 pitches (53 for strikes)\
• The Blue Jays added a run in the top of the 7th as Pinago singled home Okamoto
• The Twins got one back in the bottom half of the inning on a sac fly by Ryan Jeffers that scored Lee
• Final score Blue Jays 7 Twins 3

My Take:

• Patrick Corbin threw 5.1 innings, giving up a pair of runs on 6 hits while walking 1 and striking out 4. He retired 6 of the first 7 batters he faced and, for the most part, he was able to pitch his way out of the jams he got into. If Corbin keeps pitching like thism he'll make the decision  difficult when Shane Bieber is ready to make his 2026 regular season debut. If he has a better attitude than Lauer, he may replace Lauer as the long man out of the bullpen
• Speaking of the bullpen, Jeff Hoffman is still a work in progress. He got himself into a bases loaded jam after giving up 3 hits, but managed to hold it to a run on a sac fly. Tyler Rogers is still ridiculously dominant and is making an early case to be the reliever of the year. Louis Varland may make fans as nervous as Jeff Hoffman did in the closer role.
• Offensively, Kazuma Okamoto is making the fans forget about letting Bo Bichette walk in free agency, Okamoto homered twice and drove in 3 runs and scored 3 runs. Yohendrick Pinago would have had 4RBI if not for a throwing error in the 2nd inning. Good hitting is contagious and the offense is slowly looking like the one thar came inches from winning the Blue Jays 3rd world series 6 months ago.
• Twins catcher Victor Saratini was 3-3 on ABS challenges (overall, the Twins were 3-2). Tyler Heineman was unsuccessful in the Blue Jays lone ABS challenge
• The Blue Jays were 2-10 with runners in scoring position
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to extend the win streak to 2 games. Dylan Cease starts against Twins lefty Connor Prielipp

Game #32 - Toronto Blue Jays (14-17) @ Minnesota Twins (14-18)

 

Game #32 - Toronto Blue Jays (14-17) @ Minnesota Twins (14-18) - game recap

 

Daulton Varsho hit a solo home run in a 7-1 comeback loss to the Twins

After finishing off a floundering Red Sox team yesterday thanks to an all around team effort, the Blue Jays hit the road for their first 4-game series of the season in Minnesota. The Twins won the series in Toronto a couple of weeks back, outscoring the Blue Jays 19-16. Ace Kevin Gausman got the start with Brandon Valenzuela behind the plate. George Springer was back in the lineup as DH after being activated off the IL yesterday. Yohendrick Pinango was in LF. Could the Blue Jays extend the win streak to 3 games? Here is tonight's game recap. 

Game Highlights

:

• The Blue Jays opened the scoring in the top of the 4th as Daulton Varsho hammered a solo bomb to right
• The Twins took the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Ryan Jeffers belted a 2-run jack to left-center; also scoring Trevor Larnach
• The Twins added a run in the bottom of the 6th as Byron Buxton whacked a solo blast to left-center
• Four batters later, Austin Martin singled scoring Larnach
• Kevin Gausman pitching line: 5.2IP 4H 4R (all earned) 2BB 2K 94 pitches (58 for strikes)
• Bailey Ober pitching line: 6IP 4H 1R (earned) 2BB 2K 88 pitches (57 for strikes)
• The Twins added a pair of runs in the bottom of the 8th as Josh Bell singled scoring Jeffers and Buxton
• Three batters later, Bell scored on a sac fly by Luke Keaschall
• Final score: Twins 7 Blue Jays 1

My Take:

• The two starters had very similar pitching lines with both Gausman and Ober giving up 4 hits, walking 2 batters and striking out 2. The difference was two of the hits against Gausman went over the wall for 3 runs (Ober was also taken deep, but for just one run). Ober made it through 6 innings and Tommy Nance needed to get the last out of the 6th inning. Gausman threw a few more pitches (94 while Ober needed only 88 pitches to get 18 outs). Gausman also threw an extra pitch, 58 for strikes. You can tell when Gausman isn't pitching with his best stuff when the strikeout count is low.
• The bullpen gave up 3 runs on 2 hits and a walk over the last 2.1 innings. All three runs against were charged to Mason Fluharty, who wasn't helped by the defense that committed 2 errors in the inning. Tommy Nance and Joe Mantiply both retired every batter they faced with Nance striking out 3 batters.
• Varsho went deep and that was abour it for the offense. George Springer had a third of the Blue Jays hits, singling twice.
• The Twins were 1-1 in ABS challenges and Brandon Valenzuela lost the Blue Jays only ABS challenge
• The Blue Jays were 0-2 with runners in scoring position
• Up next, the Blue Jays try to even the series and avoid their 5th season series loss of the season. Patrick Corbin starts against Twins righty Simeon Woods Richardson.