Blue Jays Explode for 8 Runs in Eighth, Bury Twins 11-4 in Minnesota

Brandon Valenzuela's three-run bomb capped an absolute demolition job in the eighth inning Saturday afternoon, sending the Toronto Blue Jays past the Minnesota Twins 11-4 at Target Field. The first eight batters Toronto sent up in that inning scored, and just like that, what was a 2-1 game became a blowout. The Jays moved into a 2-1 lead in the four-game series with one of those innings that makes you wonder what the Twins pitcher was even throwing.

A Clinic in the Eighth

Toronto's lineup was already rolling before that eighth inning explosion, but this is where they put the game away. Ernie Clement singled to start things off, then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked. Kazuma Okamoto drove in a run with an RBI single. Lenyn Sosa's infield hit scored the go-ahead run. Things got worse for Minnesota when Anthony Banda came in and couldn't field Daulton Varsho's grounder, an error that kept the line moving. Myles Straw walked to force in another run. Then Davis Schneider snapped an 0-for-27 drought with a two-run double. Finally, Valenzuela cleared the bases with his three-run shot. Eight runs. Done.

Solo Shots and Early Momentum

Toronto had already been hitting the ball before that eighth inning outburst. Sosa, Straw, and Okamoto all went deep before the big inning. Sosa homered to left center off a one-out changeup in the second. Straw drilled a two-out fastball into the second deck in left, also in the second. Okamoto smashed a 453-foot blast to left center in the sixth off Justin Topa on a sinker. That was Okamoto's third homer in two games, if that tells you anything about how locked in he's been.

Dylan Cease was solid on the mound for Toronto, completing seven innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. Minnesota's Byron Buxton did go deep early, a solo shot to right off a fastball in the first to give the Twins an early lead, but that was all they could muster against a Toronto team firing on all cylinders.

The Blue Jays host Minnesota again soon in this four-game set. That eighth inning will be hard for Twins fans to shake.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.