This time the Twins were ready.
After succumbing to early deficits in losses to the Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, the Twins finally rallied from an early hole to even their series at a game apiece with the Blue Jays after a 7-5 win on Tuesday.
Again, Tuesday’s tilt did not get off to a good start after Bailey Ober served up three quick runs.
The Twins clawed their way back to make it a 4-3 deficit, then the unlikeliest player in the Twins lineup — backup catcher Mickey Gasper, who came into the game mired in a terrible slump — hit a game-tying home run in the ninth inning and then Matt Wallner, who hit two moonshots in Monday’s loss, walloped a three-run blast to make it 7-4.
Closer Justin Topa served up one more run before closing out the game for his fourth save of the season. The pitching win went to reliever Michael Tonkin.
The Twins go for the series win on Wednesday. Simeon Woods Richardson, who landed on the injured list with an intestinal illness, is back and gets the ball.
Extra innings…
–The Twins are 60-72.
–Gasper’s day: Three hits in four trips to the plate, including the dinger, two runs scored, an RBI and he threw out a runner.
–Wallner hit his 20th home run in Tuesday’s game, becoming the fourth Minnesota native (Forest Lake) to hit 20 or more home runs in a single season for the Twins. The others: Kent Hrbek (Bloomington), Joe Mauer (Saint Paul) and Dave Winfield (Saint Paul).
–More from the hit parade: Brooks Lee had two hits, scored two runs and drove in a run and Luke Keaschall hit a two-run shot.
–Ober’s line: Four runs allowed on 10 hits, including two more dingers, across five innings with no walks and three whiffs. He has allowed a team-leading 27 home runs.
–Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer picked up win No. 221 on Monday. He is now 221-114 with a 3.17 ERA and 3,468 strikeouts across 18 seasons.