Key Takeaways:
- The Minnesota Twins’ superb bullpen performance helped them defeat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-3 on Saturday night.
The Minnesota Twins beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-3 on Saturday night thanks to an outstanding bullpen effort, including two RBIs from Jorge Polanco with two outs and a home run from Jose Miranda.
The Twins, who are now in the first place and have a two-game lead over Cleveland in the AL Central, were led by All-Star Luis Arraez, who went 3 for 5 with an RBI.
Both of Polanco’s clutch hits, a single in the 3rd inning off Blue Jays star player Mitch White (1-3) and also a double in the fifth inning after Tim Mayza replaced White, allowed Arraez to score twice.
Mayza experienced a difficult night that resulted in a dislocated non-throwing shoulder. Beginning the sixth inning, three batters after giving up Miranda’s 11th home run, Mayza charged a squeeze bunt that Sandy León dropped down in front of the mound for a single that sent Nick Gordon around to score.
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The only thing going for him to do was to scoop the ball into his glove and flip it to the plate or tag Gordon in the same move, but he whiffed and smacked Gordon with his fully extended right arm. In the contact, it bowed awkwardly, causing Mayza to writhe in the soil for a moment before slowly walking away while gripping his shoulder. Currently, Mayza is the lone left-handed reliever for Toronto, and he’s had a good season with a 2.88 ERA.
Bo Bichette drove in the game’s lone run throughout five innings, driving in a go-ahead two runs against Twins starter Dylan Bundy in the fourth and an RBI single in the eighth.
The right-hander who leads the big leagues in 100 mph pitches struck out Matt Chapman for his 4th strikeout on a 101 mph heater as well as retired Whit Merrifield on a fielder’s choice grounder to end the inning with a 5-3 advantage. In the ninth, Jhoan Duran inherited runners at the corners with one out and gave up Bichette’s bouncer up the middle.
After missing his save opportunity on Friday night in the Twins’ 6-5 victory in 10 innings, newly acquired closer, Jorge López concluded with a hitless ninth to cap off the relief parade. Trevor Megill (3-1) started the parade with a flawless fifth.
For the Blue Jays, who are in the lead in the AL wild-card race, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reached 2 for 5 with a run scored to stretch his career-high hitting streak to 17 straight games. Baltimore, the first team below the three-team cut, is three games behind them.
Guerrero, a two-time All-Star, is currently at bat.
He hit 420 (29 for 69) during his streak with 8 doubles, three home runs, and 12 RBIs.
Source: CTV News
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