TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays’ bullpen entered Friday night’s game with a league-worst earned-run average. That’s not who the Twins saw for most of the day.

Instead, they had to scratch and claw for eight innings against starter Yusei Kikuchi, who has been among the best in the majors this season.

They weren’t able to get much going off Kikuchi — but they didn’t need to. Their starter, Joe Ryan, was just as good.

Using some early offense, a fifth-inning home run, a late-insurance run and seven strong innings from Ryan, the Twins took a 3-2 win in the series opener at Rogers Centre in Toronto on Friday night. It marked their 16th win in their past 18 games.

The Twins finished the day with just four hits off Kikuchi. Three of them came in the first inning when Carlos Correa, Willi Castro and Jose Miranda strung together consecutive singles, producing their first run of the game.

They were unable to execute a double steal later in the inning when Miranda broke for second, drawing a throw. The speedy Castro left for home, but second baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s throw back to the plate beat him there, ending the inning.

That was the only rally the Twins had all night against Kikuchi, who then retired 21 of 22 batters in innings two through eight. The one he didn’t was Carlos Santana, whose opposite-field home run ended up giving the Twins a permanent lead.

When the Twins finally did have their chance to face that Blue Jays bullpen, they added an important run in the ninth inning. Max Kepler’s single off Genesis Cabrera extended his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games and brought home Correa, who had doubled.

Those three runs were enough for the Twins on a night where Ryan was very strong.

Minnesota Twins’ Willi Castro reaches third base on an RBI single by Jose Miranda against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, May 10, 2024, in Toronto. (Cole Burtson/The Canadian Press via AP)

The only blemish on his night, a home run to Kiner-Falefa, tied the game up in the third inning. He ran into some more trouble in the fifth inning when a a pair of runners reached scoring position with no outs but was able to escape the inning unscathed.

He capped off his outing, his longest of the season, by retiring the last nine batters he faced in order, before turning it over to the bullpen. Griffin Jax ran into some trouble in the ninth inning, allowing a run, before third baseman Ernie Clement hit a ball off him that took a fortuitous bounce towards first base to retire the last out.

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Authorities have charged a St. Paul man in connection with a shooting that occurred during a carjacking attempt Thursday afternoon in the Cub Foods parking lot on Clarence Street and Maryland Avenue.

Jarquez Jason Yankovec, 27, was charged Friday with one felony count of possessing a firearm when he was prohibited, one felony count of possessing ammunition when he was forbidden and one felony count of firing toward an occupied building or vehicle.

During the Thursday afternoon carjacking attempt on the East Side, a man was shot in the upper left thigh when Yankovec allegedly fired through the driver’s window of the man’s vehicle.

The incident occurred around 2 p.m. A man who had been parked in the grocery store parking lot said two masked men approached his vehicle and tried to open the rear doors. He was frightened and backed out of his parking spot to drive away. The two men chased him and one fired a gun. A bullet struck him as he drove away. He drove himself to St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood, where he was treated for an injury that wasn’t life threatening.

The suspects also tried to carjack another person, who also drove away from the lot.

Ninety minutes later, investigators arrested two men, ages 21 and 27, in connection with the incident.

Authorities said that Yankovec has a prior felony conviction for third-degree assault that makes him ineligible to possess firearms or ammunition. Yankovec also has a prior conviction for felon in possession of a firearm.

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You’ve almost surely seen him on TV throughout the Timberwolves’ playoff run.

The man dressed up like a wolf, rocking a lime green shirt, carrying around the remnants of a broomstick. He has popped up in background seemingly at random, whether it be the national broadcast on TNT, or the local broadcast on Bally Sports North.

Who the heck is this guy? Meet Catrell Maclin, the Timberwolves superfan who has garnered a cult following around the Twin Cities.

He grew up on the outskirts of Memphis, Tenn., and while he still lives in the surrounding area, his love for the Timberwolves has existed since the early 2000s. As much as he adored Kevin Garnett for the fierceness with which he played the game, Maclin was especially fond of Wally Szczerbiak, well, because he was a sharpshooter himself during his playing days.

The fandom has followed Maclin ever since to the point that he took it upon himself to give the Timberwolves a boost once they reached the playoffs. He said he wanted to bring the homecourt advantage on the road, so with the Timberwolves leading the Phoenix Suns 2-0 in the first round, Maclin hopped on a plane with a specific outfit already planned for the occasion.

The ensemble features a wolf head, wolf paws, and a wolf tail that he bought on Amazon, paired with an unmistakable lime green shirt, and a Timberwolves flag that he drapes over his back.

“I was driving around town a couple of hours before tipoff to make sure I had everything,” Maclin said. “It all came together about 15 minutes before the game.”

Literally. Though he already felt pretty good about his look as he walked into Footprint Center in Phoenix, Maclin truly believed the Timberwolves were going to sweep the Suns, and he wanted everybody around him to know it. The broomstick made too much sense.

“I had a conversation with a custodian at arena,” Maclin said. “I bugged the hell out of him for like an hour. I got there a little early so I was walking around like, ‘Hey man. Can I borrow that broomstick?’ He was like, ‘Nah. I can’t do it.’ ”

Nothing was going to stop Maclin in that moment. He continued to pester the custodian, and with tipoff nearing he finally broke.

“He pointed over his shoulder and said, ‘That closet is always open. You didn’t hear it from me,’ ” Maclin said. “I poke poked my head in there and there was a broomstick. I unscrewed the pole and I borrowed it. That was it.”

The legend was born as soon as the camera found him. He has become something of an unofficial mascot since then, bringing the homecourt advantage on the road once again this week, with the Timberwolves playing the Denver Nuggets in the second round.

“You know, when it comes to getting dressed up, and yelling, and talking trash, it’s super fun to me because that’s how I grew up,” Maclin said. “I was always the youngest kid out of all my cousins, so the back and forth was always something that came naturally for me.”

He has endeared himself to an entire fan base in the process.

“It’s so much fun for me,” Maclin said. “Then getting to cheer for a squad like the Timberwolves that can back it up makes it even better.”

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J.J. McCarthy certainly looks the part of a franchise quarterback. That much was apparent on Friday afternoon as McCarthy took the practice field at TCO Performance Center for the first time with the Vikings.

Not only did McCarthy look every bit of his 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame, he showcased his arm talent, effortlessly zipping the ball around to his teammates.

Any nerves?

“I was more anxious than anything,” McCarthy said. “You’re just waiting so long to get back to real football.”

It helps that McCarthy has been tirelessly preparing for this moment. As soon as the Vikings selected him with the No. 10 pick in the 2024 draft, he dove headfirst into the playbook in an effort to learn as much as he could. He also met with different members of the coaching staff over Zoom to go over everything before he arrived back in town.

That gave McCarthy a leg up on the first day of rookie minicamp.

“It didn’t feel like my first day,” McCarthy said. “I’ve been going over the offense for a long time.”

As much as McCarthy has made a concerted effort to learn the offense over the past few weeks, he also had some pre-existing knowledge going back to his formal interview with head coach Kevin O’Connell at the NFL Combine, as well as his private workout with the Vikings on his college campus in Ann Arbor, Mich.

“We spent a lot of time together predraft, and a real benefit of that is, in a lot of ways, a lot of things we’re talking about he’s not hearing for the first time,” O’Connell said. “That’s what I liked so much about the part of the process we went through predraft.”

There were still some highs and lows from McCarthy. He looked comfortable for the most part and made a handful of throws that even a seasoned veteran would’ve been proud of. He also threw an interception during the 7-on-7 portion that ended up being returned for a touchdown.

“I felt like I could fit it in there and force it,” McCarthy said. “At this level, they’re a lot faster, a lot longer. It’s great to learn now before the veterans get here. Hopefully won’t be in that situation anytime soon.”

Maybe the most important thing for McCarthy in the short term is continuing to give himself grace. He has a tendency of trying to learn everything all at once. He knows that isn’t in his best interest.

“I’ve fell victim to the paralysis by over analysis before,” McCarthy said. “I’m taking it slow incrementally, and they’re doing a great job of making sure that process is going as smoothly as possible.”

There will undoubtedly be some teaching points that O’Connell impresses upon McCarthy this weekend. That comes with the territory. That said, O’Connell noted that his main goal is making sure McCarthy is ready when the veterans return next week.

“He’s a process driven guy,” O’Connell said. “He understands that there’s a long road ahead of him. We’re just trying to make incremental gains that will be solidified as part of how he plays quarterback for a long time. I’ve been really impressed with him so far.”

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