Ober's strong start, Santana's three-run blast power Twins past Blue Jays

The Twins won two of three in Toronto.

May 12, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Minnesota Twins first baseman Carlos Santana (30) hits a / Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Bailey Ober held the Toronto Blue Jays to just one hit across 6 1/3 innings and Carlos Santana hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning as the Twins beat the Blue Jays 5-1 Sunday afternoon in Toronto. The Twins won two of three across the border to win their sixth straight series.

Ober matched a career high with 10 strikeouts in his start, completely shutting down the Blue Jays (18-22). It was an effort the Twins (24-16) needed against Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah, who also delivered a strong effort, allowing just four hits and three runs while fanning six across seven innings.

The game remained scoreless through six innings until Santana finally got to Manoah for a three-run homer that went 399 feet into right-center field in the seventh inning.

The Blue Jays, meanwhile, found their lone run of the day in the bottom of the inning once Ober exited the game after getting the first out of the inning. Twins reliever Cole Sands walked Vladimir Guerrero Jr., then gave up a single to Bo Bichette before hitting Davis Schneider with a pitch.

With the bases loaded with one out, Kody Funderburk came on in relief, and Danny Jansen hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Guerrero. But Funderburk limited the damage, then striking out Isiah Kiner-Falefa to get out of the inning.

Max Kepler once again provided a big hit when the Twins needed it with two out in the eighth inning, providing a couple insurance runs with a two-RBI double to right field. Funderburk then pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning before Jhoan Duran pitched a scoreless ninth to close it out.

The Twins return home on Tuesday night to kick off a three-game series against the New York Yankees. First pitch is slated for 6:40 p.m.