Blue Jays – Twins: Schneider Sparks 11-4 Win With Eight-Run Eighth

Blue Jays – Twins turned quickly in Minneapolis, and Toronto left with an 11-4 win after an eight-run eighth inning blew it open. The Blue Jays moved to 16-17 and have now won nine of their past 13 games.

Davis Schneider opens the floodgates

Davis Schneider delivered the swing that started the breakaway, a two-run double in the eighth that put Toronto in control. Brandon Valenzuela followed with a three-run homer to cap the inning, turning a one-sided frame into the difference in the game.

Before that surge, the Blue Jays had already answered multiple Minnesota swings. Myles Straw hit a solo homer in the second inning, and Lenyn Sosa added his first homer of the season in that same frame.

Cease settles in after Buxton

Dylan Cease gave Toronto seven innings for the first time since joining the club, a needed length after the game opened with Byron Buxton’s solo homer in the first. Cease allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits and one walk while striking out seven.

He needed 106 pitches to get through his outing, and the Blue Jays held together behind him as the offense kept stacking damage. Kazuma Okamoto added a 453-foot homer in the sixth before the eighth inning ended Minnesota’s chances.

Springer leaves with foot concern

George Springer was hit on the same left foot in which he has a broken big toe, and he appeared to avoid further damage. That left Toronto with one more concern in a game it otherwise controlled late, even as the lineup kept pressing through the final innings.

John Schneider praised the way the offense kept moving the line, and Straw said the group is stringing together hard contact and disciplined at-bats. Toronto now heads out of Minneapolis with a win built on one huge inning, a longer start from Cease, and a lineup that is starting to turn traffic into runs.