Blue Jays 9, Twins 6: Josh Donaldson had his first career three-homer game, and Toronto sent Minnesota to its 10th straight loss. The Twins jumped ahead 5-0 after the top half of the fourth and the Jays chipped away, scoring a run in the bottom of the fourth, two in the sixth, three in the seventh and two in the eighth courtesy of Upton’s heroics. And he bolstered the Jays’ lead to 9-6 in the ninth with another homer to center field off of Alex Wimmers. The Orioles have lost three straight.
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Donaldson made a throwing error in the top of the third that contributed to the Twins’ first run, but he made up for that with a line-drive home run in the bottom half of the inning, smacking a 92 miles per hour, four-seam fastball by Gibson over the left field fence into the second deck for a 2-1 Toronto lead.
The Red Sox can’t tie Toronto for first place in the AL East standings at least until tomorrow.
White Sox 4, Mariners 1: Carlos Rodon pitched into the seventh inning, Justin Morneau had a two-run single, and Melky Cabrera drove in a run and scored twice in Chicago’s victory over Seattle. The play was officially scored a triple and an error, after Kepler booted the ball trying to recover.
Twins outfielders Robbie Grossman and Danny Santana collided while chasing a high fly by leadoff batter Bautista in the first.
Dickey will looking for his second straight win after holding the Angels to six hits, two walks and two runs Tuesday. Donaldson then smacked a single to gap in right centre, scoring Melvin Upton Jr. from third and Devon Travis from second, moving Jose Bautista to third.
Toronto scored in the bottom of the fourth when Encarnacion walked and Michael Saunders doubled. He gave up three runs and five hits in 2 1/3 innings. Molitor said Santana would be placed on the disabled list with a sprained left left shoulder.
The Twins have Kyle Gibson on the mound today to face R.A. Dickey of the Blue Jays. Following Donaldson’s third homer of the day and fifth in four games, hats poured onto the field. And because the game was actually in Rogers Centre this time, there were many, many more.
Twins: Triple-A OF Logan Schafer will join the team in Cleveland Monday to replace Santana.
“I love it”, said Jays’ starter Marcus Stroman of Grilli’s antics on the mound. He was checked by the trainer and stayed in.
Blue Jays catcher Josh Thole fully understands the reasons why the club traded for another catcher, Dioner Navarro, on Friday – even if it means his immediate future with the club is now up in the air. Gibson has struggled this year, putting on a 5.09 ERA for the season and a 6.16 ERA in his last three starts. Santiago missed his last turn with a bruised thumb. Liriano is 7-12 overall, and 3-1 in five career starts against Minnesota, his team from 2005 to 2012.
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Donaldson’s two-run homer (74-56) in the seventh gave Toronto a 6-5 lead and helped extend the Twins’ (49-81) losing streak to 10 games. Estrada is 0-2 with an 8.36 ERA in his past three outings.
