The Twins’ well-earned reputation for having a rock-solid bullpen took a hit on a Saturday afternoon when the late-inning pitching was as erratic as the weather at Target Field.
Minnesota took a lead into the eighth, only to see Toronto score off relievers Griffin Jax and Johan Duran as the Blue Jays rallied for a 5-4 win, handing the Twins their third consecutive loss.
On a day where the skies went from sunny and calm to windy with clouds, and back again, with regularity, the Twins were similarly unsettled, falling behind early, rallying to lead, then seeing their scoreboard advantage slip away.
Matt Wallner and Kody Clemens homered for Minnesota. The Twins got six innings of work from starter Chris Paddack, who took a no decision.
“There’s some frustration when you lose a game that you have in hand, or at least you have a lead with some really good relievers that are coming in the game. That’s not the taste you’re looking for,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said, after his team saw a lead slip away for the second consecutive game.
“But we knew that these games were going to be competitive and the team on the other side has been playing really good.” Baldelli said. “They’ve been pitching good, and they’ve been playing really good baseball. We knew we were going to have to come in and pitch very, very well. We knew we were going to have to have really solid at-bats throughout.”
Paddack needed 28 pitches to escape the first inning, including 10 foul balls by Toronto, and did not make it unscathed. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. singled and came around to score on a Nathan Lukes single to center, after Paddack had walked George Springer.
He got two quick outs in the second only to see Toronto double its lead when catcher Tyler Heineman, batting ninth for the Blue Jays, blasted a pitch 403 feet to right field for his second home run of the season.
“That’s a pretty tough lineup, one through nine. Not a lot of swing and miss, especially the bottom of the order, and not a lot of chase either,” Paddack said. “As pitchers, we have to beat them in zone. I recognize I threw some really good changeups early in the game and got some takes.”
Toronto starter Kevin Gausman faced the minimum number of Twins during his first trip through the order, allowing only a walk to leadoff man Trevor Larnach, who was erased two batters later when Carlos Correa bounced into a double play.
Gausman’s trouble started with one out in the fourth, when Ryan Jeffers and Correa hit back-to-back singles, and Wallner walked to load the bases.
Gausman hit Ty France to drive in a run — the league-leading 12th time that France has been plunked this season. Then Royce Lewis worked a walk to tie the game at 2-2.
The threat ended when Kody Clemens hit into a rare 5-2-3 double play, with Heineman forcing Wallner out at home, then throwing to first in time to get Clemens.
The Twins took the lead in the sixth when Wallner plopped a 1-2 pitch into the right field stands for his third homer in six games since being called up from St. Paul on May 31.
With the bases loaded and two out in the seventh, Minnesota missed a chance to blow the game open when Correa’s knock to right held up long enough for Blue Jays outfielder Addison Barger to glove it.
Correa finished 1 for 4 in his first game back in the lineup after missing the previous three with upper back soreness.
Then, just as a light rain began to fall, Jax surrendered a double to Barger and a homer to left by Springer to put Toronto back in front. Barger’s hit was a slicing ball down the left field line with the Twins’ infield shifted.
“It’s annoying. I thought it was an executed cutter, he flips it down the line. Whatever,” said Jax, who took the loss, falling to 1-4. “But I still can’t focus on that, especially when Springer’s up. And I don’t think I did. I think I did a pretty good job of being more focused on executing the pitch to Springer. It’s just the pitch got away from me.”
The Blue Jays tacked on an insurance run off Duran in their final at-bat, before Clemens led off the bottom of the ninth with a homer to left. It was the career-high sixth home run of the season for Clemens, who came over from Philadelphia in a spring trade.
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“It was good to put up some runs there. I thought Gausman threw well, keeping us off balance,” said Clemens. “Just a little frustrated with myself with the bases loaded double play there. Wish I could come up for my team in that moment.”
Toronto closer Jeff Hoffman then struck out Willi Castro, got Harrison Bader to fly out to right, and coaxed a long fly ball to left center from Larnach. It was the 15th save of the season for Hoffman as Toronto won its fourth consecutive game and has won 10 of the past 12. Reliever Chad Green got the win for Toronto, improving to 2-1.
Minnesota will try to salvage a game when the series concludes with a 1:10 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
Ernie Clement #22 of the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. #27 celebrate their teams win against the Minnesota Twins after the game at Target Field on June 7, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Matt Krohn/Getty Images)
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