MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Nick Gordon hit three homers and scored in the 10th inning for Minnesota after a foul by Toronto catcher Danny Jansen gave the Twins a 6-5 win over the Blue Jays on the night. Friday.
Gordon, who had three hits in the game, was the auto runner to start in last 10th place. Jordan Romano (3-3) beat Jake Cave on a low slider over Jansen, who threw very hard forward, allowing Cave to approach and put Gordon in third.
Tim Beckham hit the ground on third-placed Matt Chapman, who threw home to get Gordon to try to score. Jansen is likely to have a ball out but can’t catch the ball.
“I was actually gliding and watching the catcher, so I actually saw the ball drop and I yelled at the umpire,” Gordon said. “I said, ‘Safe, safe.’ So I was hoping he heard me.”
Toronto bounced back from a 5-0 loss before losing for the fourth time in its last 16 games.
“I think everything went the way we wanted it to and we didn’t make it at the last minute,” said interim manager John Schneider. “I like the way we play and I think it’s a game like in a vacuum. You try to collapse it and move on.”
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Michael Fulmer (4-4) leaves the bases ranked at the top of 10th in his second appearance for Minnesota since being acquired from Detroit.
The Twins, who lost six of nine, extended their AL Central lead to two games against Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox.
“Sometimes you just have to fight a little bit,” said Minnesota coach Rocco Baldelli. “Put the ball into the game. Make the other team make something happen. Once there’s the guy in the second base, once there’s the guy in the third base, really anything can happen in this game if you give yourself the chance. “
The Blue Jays regrouped on Friday ahead of the new Twins closer to Jorge López, another deal-term buyout who was an All-Star for Baltimore. Bo Bichette and Danny Jansen hit singles before Raimel Tapia hit a brace into the shallow center court.
Making his Minnesota debut, Tyler Mahle became the first Twins starting player to finish six innings since Sonny Gray won six against Detroit on July 24.
Mahle allowed a hit in the first four innings before giving up the hosts to Matt Chapman, Santiago Espinal and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who extended their streak to 16 games with a two-game burst in the middle of the sixth round.
Acquired by the Cincinnati Reds on a three-pronged deadline, Mahle allowed four runs and five hits. He has not allowed three hosts in a game this season.
“I’m excited to be playing in a game that makes sense,” Mahle said. “I haven’t really done that all year. So glad my family was here to see it. “
Gordon’s fifth game of the season overtook fourth place four times that of former Twins player José Berríos, who dropped five runs with six hits in 3 2/3 innings.
I HATE GOODS
Minnesota has appointed right-hand man Tyler Duffey for release or transfer, potentially ending Duffey’s eight-season tenure with the team. Duffey is 2-4 with an ERA of 4.91 this season. He allowed three runs in 1 2/3 innings in Thursday’s 9-3 loss to Toronto.
Duffey, 31, started early in his game for Minnesota before becoming a vital drug. He has had a 2.31 ERA in more than 80 appearances from 2019-2020.
“There are decisions that have to be made. This is one of them that is really difficult,” Baldelli said. “It took some time and some reflection before we got there. But we think it’s something that we have to do and therefore, if we think it’s the right thing to do, we have to. “
Right-hand man Cole Sands has been recalled from Triple-A St. Paul to take on a permanent relief role.
ROOM OF TRAINER
Blue Jays: George Springer’s was dropped from the squad as he suffered a lingering elbow injury. Schneider said this is Springer’s maintenance day.
Twins: OF Byron Buxton is given a day off due to a lingering knee injury.
NEXT
RHP Mitch White will debut in Toronto on Saturday night after being acquired in a deadline deal with Los Angeles. White is 1-2 with a 3.70 ERA in 15 games, including 10 starts, for the Dodgers. Minnesota will start RHP Dylan Bundy (6-5, 5.04 ERA), who has allowed 15 runs to be earned in his final 19 1/3 innings.
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