Jansen, Springer homer, Blue Jays beat Twins, keep pressure
Danny Jansen hit a go-ahead, three-run homer, George Springer also went deep and the Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins 5-2 Sunday to maintain pressure in the AL wild-card race before heading to Toronto for their final homestand.
Toronto will enter the final week one game back for the second AL wild card. The New York Yankees and Boston were tied for the wild-card lead heading into their game on Sunday night.
Toronto won the final two games of the four-game series. The Blue Jays host three-game series against New York and Baltimore.
“We just have to win,” said Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo. “I'm so proud of this team, to be where we are right now. They deserve all the credit.”
Alek Manoah (8-2) won his third straight start, giving up two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts and two walks. The rookie has 25 strikeouts in his last three outings.
Manoah and three relievers combined to strike out 15.
“You want to show up and you want to give the team a chance, because right now everything's a little stick,” Manoah said. “You've got to go out there and compete and just understand what's at stake.”
The Blue Jays head home to the Rogers Centre in Toronto, which was recently allowed to double the capacity for games. That means 30,000 fans will be there when the Blue Jays take on the Yankees in a pivotal series.
“I think everybody's excited for it,” Jensen said. “We're going to play the big dogs, and we're going to play them at home in front of 30,000 fans. That's a huge thing, having those fans.”
Griffin Jax (3-5) gave up four runs and six hits in five innings as the Twins lost their second in a row following a four-game winning streak.
“At every point, really, we felt like we were absolutely in the game,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said.
Jansen homered in the second after a pair of one-out bloop singles by Corey Dickerson to left and Santiago Espinal to center.
Jake Cave hit an RBI single in the bottom half.
Springer homered in the fifth, a drive that like Jansen's went into the bullpen in left-center field. Both players put on Toronto's home run jacket - the Blue Jays have hit a major league-high 248.
Springer's homer was his second in as many days after going homerless in 12 straight games.
Teoscar Hernandez hit an RBI double in the eighth and leads the major leagues with 112 RBIs, including a big league high 64 since the All-Star break.
Byron Buxton homered in the fifth, his career-best 16th in just 55 games this season.
“He's been basically the best player in baseball for the time he's had on the field,” Baldelli said of Buxton. “Buck's a great player. We see it every day when he's out here.”
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr., who injured his right hand Tuesday, remains day-to-day. Montoyo said Gurriel has a large cut on his hand where he grips the bat. “We'll see how he is by Tuesday,” Montoyo said.
Twins: RHP Joe Ryan, who was placed on the bereavement list on Saturday, is scheduled to return to the rotation Thursday when he'll start against the Detroit Tigers. “We don't want him coming back and rushing him back into his start off of just playing catch while he's away,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We want to make sure he's able to settle in, throw a bullpen at some point when he returns and be ready to go.”
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: RHP Hyun Jin Ryu (13-9) appears likely to start against the Yankees and RHP Jameson Taillon (8-6, 4.41).
Twins: Minnesota opens a series Tuesday against Detroit.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.