Twins Rally in Ninth with Back-to-Back Homers to Stun Blue Jays 7–5

TORONTO (AP) — The Minnesota Twins pulled off a dramatic late-inning comeback Tuesday night, riding back-to-back home runs from Mickey Gasper and Matt Wallner to a 7–5 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Trailing 4–3 in the ninth, Minnesota tied it up when Gasper launched his first career home run off Blue Jays closer Jeff Hoffman. Just four batters later, Wallner crushed a two-run shot — his 20th of the season — to put the Twins on top for good. It was Wallner’s second homer in as many nights, despite Monday’s 10–4 loss.

The victory snapped a three-game skid for Minnesota and marked only their third win in the last 12 games.

Hoffman (8–5) suffered his seventh blown save in 35 attempts and was loudly booed by the crowd of 42,235 after issuing a walk to Edouard Julien. He managed to retire just two of the seven batters he faced and has now surrendered 12 homers this season.

Michael Tonkin (2–0) picked up the win in relief, recording two outs, while Justin Topa worked around a late RBI double by Daulton Varsho in the ninth to earn his fourth save in six chances.

Despite the loss, George Springer shined for Toronto, going 4-for-5 with two towering home runs — a 433-foot shot in the second and a 445-footer in the fifth. The blasts marked his 23rd and 24th of the season, and his fourth multi-homer game of the year.

Luke Keaschall also contributed for Minnesota, hitting a two-run homer — his third — earlier in the game.

The Twins have now homered in 22 straight games at Rogers Centre, the longest road stadium home run streak in franchise history. Their previous record was 21 games at Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium between 1998 and 2001.

Up Next:
Toronto will send left-hander Eric Lauer (8–2, 2.76 ERA) to the mound Wednesday. Minnesota has yet to announce its starting pitcher.