TORONTO — Mickey Gasper hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning, Matt Wallner added a go-ahead homer and the Twins rallied to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-5 on Tuesday night.

Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman came on in the ninth with Toronto leading 4-3, but Gasper greeted him with a game-tying homer, the first of his career.

Four batters later, Wallner gave the Twins the lead with a two-run homer, his 20th. Wallner homered twice in Monday’s 10-4 loss.

The Twins snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the third time in 12 games.

The blown save was Hoffman’s seventh in 35 chances. Hoffman has allowed 12 home runs.

Hoffman (8-5) left to boos from the crowd of 42,235 after walking Edouard Julien. The right-hander retired two of the seven batters he faced.

Minnesota’s Michael Tonkin (2-0) got two outs for the win and Justin Topa pitched around Daulton Varsho’s pinch-hit RBI double in the ninth to earn his fourth save in six chances.

George Springer went 4 for 5 with two home runs, but it wasn’t enough for the AL East-leading Blue Jays. Springer hit a 433-foot drive in the second, then added a 445-foot blast in the fifth. The homers were his 23rd and 24th. It was Springer’s fourth multi-homer game this season and the 28th of his career.

Luke Keaschall hit a two-run home run for Minnesota, his third.

Key moment

Wallner connected on the first pitch he saw from Hoffman, a 96 mph fastball.

Key stat

The Twins have homered in 22 consecutive games at Rogers Centre, dating to 2017. It’s Minnesota’s longest home run streak at any road stadium. The Twins homered in 21 straight games at Kansas City between 1998 and 2001.

Up next

Blue Jays LHP Eric Lauer (8-2, 2.76 ERA) is expected to start Wednesday. The Twins have not named a starter.

Congratulations to ’80s metal titans Def Leppard on setting a new record Tuesday night at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand. And that record would be the most expensive ticket to date for a State Fair concert, a whopping $292.

For comparison, here are ticket prices for the band’s previous Grandstand shows: $9-$16 (1993, a year you could also see the double header of Bob Dylan and Santana at the same price), $24 (2000), $54 (2007), $41-$61 (2011 when Heart, who are always great, was also on the bill) and $52-$67 (2015).

The first act to break the $200 barrier was the Jonas Brothers just two years ago. Last summer, Blake Shelton and Motley Crue also hit $207. (Keep in mind that the Grandstand is a nonprofit with the goal of breaking even each year.)

If that’s not enough, the band sold the first 10 rows as VIP packages that included a laminate and $50 online merch credit for a whopping $437. No f-f-f-foolin’!

Was it worth it? Well, some fans let their wallets answer that one. Attendance Tuesday night was 9,418, down from 13,007 back in 2015. To be fair, they do play the metro frequently. Tuesday was their 16th local show of the century.

Guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell and bassist Rick Savage sounded as great as ever and Rick Allen is easily the greatest one-armed drummer in ’80s hairspray metal.

But lead singer Joe Elliott remains Def Leppard’s biggest oof. The guy can’t sing, or at least he can’t sing like he used to. And he pulled out every trick in the book to mask his wrecked voice, including speak/singing some verses, having the other guys sing along and urging the audience handle the choruses. The worst thing, however, is the almost comical level of echo they use on Elliott’s voice, which he often leans into by contorting his vocals into pained bleats. At least he wasn’t lip syncing, so there’s that.

On the plus side, the 90-minute show was well paced and packed with hits, of which Def Leppard has many, including “Rocket,” “Animal,” “Photograph,” “Rock of Ages,” “Foolin’,” “Love Bites” and the strip club anthem “Pour Some Sugar on Me” among them. They also offered a few deep cuts (“Let it Go” and “Switch 625” from 1981) and two new ones (“Just Like ’73” and “This Guitar”).

Ironically enough, Elliott sounded the best when he stripped away all the gimmicks and simply crooned his way through “Two Steps Behind.” Of course that approach won’t work on, say, “Armageddon It,” so Elliot’s echo chamber effects won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. It just looks like he’ll be playing for even smaller crowds in the future.

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Two children died in an early morning apartment fire in Mankato, and their mother was taken to a Twin Cities hospital, authorities said.

By the time firefighters doused the blaze in the Lincoln Park neighborhood just after 2 a.m. Monday, it was too late. Two children in the house died in the fire, and their mother was airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Another adult and child escaped the fire without injury. Authorities have not released the identities of the victims. But social media posts and a GoFundMe site identify the injured mother as Deanna Lynn Lenzen and the deceased children as Aiden and Annika.

On the GoFundMe site, a friend of Lenzen’s who is organizing the fundraiser, said Lenzen “is currently in an oxygen chamber to help her lungs with the smoke inhalation.”

When Mankato firefighters responded to 233½ Bradley St. at about 2 a.m., flames were visible from the upstairs apartment where the family — the two adults, three children and several cats and ferrets — lived.

“This is a heartbreaking tragedy, especially at the start of the new school year,” stated Jeremy Clifton, director of the Mankato Department of Public Safety, in a city news release. “We are working to determine the cause and will support those affected in any way we can.”

Occupants of the lower apartment in the house were able to get out safely.

Jaci Bingham said she woke up around 2:10 a.m. after hearing noise from the street and her dogs growling. She also saw bright light coming from the front of her house that made her wonder who was in her driveway. She looked out her window — she lives just around the corner from where the fire happened — and saw an army of fire trucks and police cars.

“Then I came out front and stood here and watched for a little bit,” she said. “But I didn’t realize that, at the time that I was out here watching what was going on, that there were still people in the house.”

While the exact cause of the fire has not been determined, the city release said, early indications suggest it was not intentional. The state fire marshal is assisting with the ongoing investigation.

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By DEE-ANN DURBIN

Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.

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In a post on its website, Cracker Barrel said it will retain its old logo, which features an older man in overalls sitting next to a barrel and the words “Old Country Store.”

“We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel,” the company said in a statement. “Our new logo is going away and our ‘Old Timer’ will remain.”

The tempest over the logo began last week, when the company announced plans for a simplified design featuring only the company’s name. Lebanon, Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel made the change as part of a wider plan to modernize its restaurants and appeal to younger customers.

But many protested the change. Earlier Tuesday, Trump said via Truth Social that Cracker Barrel should “admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before,” saying doing so could wield “a Billion Dollars worth of free publicity” to their advantage.