It was fun while it lasted.
Ryan Jeffers hit a three-run home run, Brooks Lee added a solo shot and the Twins grabbed an early 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth inning on Friday.
And then the Blue Jays’ offense kicked into gear.
They scored five runs in the fourth, a run in the fifth, two runs in the sixth, a run in the seventh and a run in the eighth to run away from the Twins 10-4. In all the Blue Jays banged out 14 hits, including seven doubles and two home runs.
This is the kind of game you flush and move on from because it appears the Blue Jays were going to get their hits and runs no matter who was on the mound.
After outdueling the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal in his last start, Simeon Woods Richardson didn’t bring much to the table on Friday. He allowed five runs on six hits, including a home run, across four innings with a walk and two whiffs.
The bullpen wasn’t any better because three relievers coughed up five more runs, including Anthony Banda who got hit hard again with three runs allowed.
Joe Ryan gets the ball Saturday.
Extra innings…
–Well, it turns out the Twins were far from full strength for Friday’s game. Royce Lewis has landed on the injured list with a sprained knee, reliever Cody L. will join him with a right forearm strain and SWR apparently was throwing up before his start because of something bad he ate, MLB.com reports.
–Despite the loss, Jeffers had a 3-for-3 day at the plate with a run scored and three RBI. Austin Martin also had two hits.
–The Twins struck out 12 times as a team, including a whiff to the artist formerly known as Louie Varland, who secured four outs with a walk and the aforementioned strikeout. Varland has yet to allow an earned run this season. Sure do miss that guy.
–More than 40,000 fans filled Rogers Centre on Friday, turning an ordinary April night into a playoff atmosphere, or at least that’s how it sounded as I listened to the game. I hope this kind of atmosphere, which Twins fans are familiar with when Minnesota eliminated Toronto from the postseason in 2023, returns to Target Field soon.