 allowed four hits, three of them singles, in seven innings. He walked one and struck out nine to win for the second time in three starts. Trevor Hildenberger worked the eighth and Ryan Pressly finished for the Twins, who have won two straight following a three-game losing streak.Escobar went 2 for 4 with three RBIs and scored twice. His double in the sixth was his major league-leading 37th. Esocbar homered off John Axford in the eighth, his 15th.Blue Jays rookie left-hander Ryan Borucki (0-2) retired the first 10 batters he faced before Eddie Rosario and Brian Dozier hit back-to-back singles in the fourth. Borucki retired the next two batters to end the threat.Toronto left fielder Teoscar Hernandez dropped Joe Mauer's fly ball to begin the sixth for a two-base error. Mauer advanced on a grounder and scored on Dozier's sacrifice fly.Escobar and Robbie Grossman followed with consecutive doubles, making it 2-0.Called up from Triple-A Buffalo to make his fifth career start, Borucki allowed two runs - none earned - and six hits in six innings. He has received 10 runs of support over his five outings. Eight of those runs came in a July 13 start at Boston, a game Toronto won 13-7.Toronto infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. went 2 for 4, matching Al Woods' 1977 Blue Jays record with his seventh straight multihit game.TRAINER'S ROOMTwins: RHP Addison Reed (elbow) felt good after throwing live batting practice and could be activated off the disabled list before the Twins return home Monday.Blue Jays: RHP Marco Estrada (strained left gluteal muscle) left his rehab start for Triple-A Buffalo after 44 pitches because of a blister on his right middle finger.. Estrada allowed three runs and three hits, including two home runs, in 3 1/3 innings. ... SS Aledmys Diaz (left thumb) missed his second straight game. He is day-to-day. ... The Blue Jays moved suspended RHP Roberto Osuna from Class-A Dunedin to Triple-A. Osuna is eligible to return August 5. ... Toronto optioned LHP Tim Mayza to Triple-A to make room for Borucki.UP NEXTTwins RHP Ervin Santana will be activated off the disabled list to make his season debut against Blue Jays RHP Sam Gaviglio (2-3, 4.59) in Wednesday afternoon's series finale. Santana had surgery on his right middle finger in February. Gaviglio is winless in 10 starts.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball)
Twins aim for second straight win over Blue Jays 1h ago• 3 min read TORONTO -- The Minnesota Twins won for the first time since the All-Star break Monday night with an 8-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.They will try to make it two in a row Tuesday in the second contest of a three-game series at the Rogers Centre after being swept in a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals as play resumed after the break.The Twins will start right-hander Jose Berríos (9-7, 3.68 ERA) against the Blue Jays, who have done things in reverse since the break.The Blue Jays had won their first three games since the All-Star break by sweeping the Baltimore Orioles. They will try to resume winning Tuesday behind left-handed starter Ryan Borucki (0-1, 3.52).Berrios will be making his 21st start of the season in his first outing since July 14, when he allowed six runs, six hits and three walks while striking out five over six innings in taking the loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.This will be his second career start against the Blue Jays. He did not factor in the decision July 14, 2017, when he allowed one run on five hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings.Berrios pitched a runless inning in the All-Star Game last Tuesday.Borucki will be making his fifth career big-league start and the first against the Twins. In his first three starts, he pitched six innings once and seven innings twice. In the left-hander's final start before the break, however, he lasted only three innings and allowed eight hits and seven runs to the Boston Red Sox. He did not factor in the decision as the Blue Jays went on to win 13-7.During the All-Star break, Borucki was optioned to the minors where he put in two side sessions.Borucki will help the Blue Jays return to a normal pitching alignment Tuesday. With Marco Estrada (strained glute) not yet ready to return from the disabled list, the Blue Jays went with the bullpen Monday, starting with Luis Santos, who allowed one run in two innings to take the loss. But Tim Mayza allowed four runs in 1 1/3 innings,"It didn't work too well," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "At the big-league level, you never want to have to do it but sometimes you have to, considering the circumstances." Estrada was supposed to start for Double-A New Hampshire in a rehabilitation start Monday. That has been changed to Tuesday when he will pitch for Triple-A Buffalo.Borucki and infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are among the young players who have given the Blue Jays hope for the future.Gurriel went 2-for-4 with a home run and a walk Monday. It was his sixth straight multi-hit game. "He's always been a guy that puts the good part of the barrel to the ball consistently," Gibbons said. "He can hit breaking balls, he can foul off good breaking balls, stay alive. I think he's got a chance to be a really good player." Both teams are the subject of trade rumors as the July 31 deadline for deals without waivers approaches.There was some attention paid late in Monday's game when the Twins removed third baseman Eduardo Escobar in the seventh inning and second baseman Brian Dozier in the eighth. Both have been mentioned in rumors.Twins manager Paul Molitor said there was no significance to the moves, other than giving the players a break in a one-sided game."Just looking for guys to get a little bit of a blow," Molitor said. "After the three games down in Kansas City and a travel day, just trying to give some guys a couple innings off there. I thought it was probably a good time to do that." Molitor said he had no idea if there had been a trade completed. "I'm the last to know because I haven't heard a thing," he said.
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