Twins bullpen implodes in high-scoring loss to Blue Jays

Despite some hot bats, the Twins' bullpen struggled to close things out, falling 10-8 on the road to the Blue Jays.

Things got started early for the Twins. Back-to-back singles from Carlos Correa and Alex Kiriloff resulted in a 3-0 lead after just a half-inning of play.

Another RBI single, this time from Trevor Larnach made it 4-0 in the second, then Toronto answered with a Bo Bichette home run in the bottom of the inning, narrowing the lead to 4-1.

Blue Jays' pitcher Kevin Gausman's struggles continued into the next inning. A 411-foot, three-run homerun from Carlos Santa extended the Twins' lead to 7-1, but Toronto responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning making it 7-3.

Gausman was relieved of his duties in the fourth inning, getting replaced by RHP Zach Pop. Ryan Jeffers was the first batter he faced and he went yard for his ninth home run of the season, extending the lead again to 8-3.

Twins' starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson was putting together a solid outing, but in the fifth inning, things began to unravel. Two Blue Jays' home runs shrunk the lead to 8-6 and he was relieved by Cole Sands after 91 pitches, eight hits and only two strikeouts.

Sands only lasted 1.1 innings before allowing three hits and three earned runs. Steven Okert closed out the sixth inning, but the Blue Jays evened the game at eight.

Minnesota deployed Jay Jackson and Caleb Thielbar in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the pair combined to allow three hits, two earned runs and two walks in just 0.2 innings of work. Josh Staumont came in to close out the inning, but Toronto now led 10-8.

The Twins couldn't find any late-game magic, falling 10-8. They are not 23-16 on the season, still trailing the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the AL Central.