GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: AL: TORONTO (37-37) at MINNESOTA (38-35)

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL AT MINNESOTA - PITCHING CHANGE
MIN: RAMON ORTIZ (3-4, 5.55) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: TORONTO 8, MINNESOTA 5

DUE UP FOR TORONTO: V WELLS (.252, 3-FOR-4, HR, 3 RBI)</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL AT MINNESOTA - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: R Ortiz relieved D Reyes.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: TORONTO 8
MINNESOTA 5 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR TORONTO: V Wells (.252, 3-FOR-4, HR, 3 RBI)</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TORONTO 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 3 0 8 11 1
MINNESOTA 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 5 7 2 (BOT 9)

CURRENT PITCHERS: TOR - CASEY JANSSEN
MIN - RAMON ORTIZ

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: J KUBEL (.247, 0-FOR-3, RBI)
M REDMOND (.304, 2-FOR-3, 2 RBI)
J CIRILLO (.264, 0-FOR-3)</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">TORONTO (8) VS MINNESOTA (5) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS

TORONTO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
V Wells cf 5 1 3 3 0 1 0 .251
A Rios rf 4 2 3 2 0 0 2 .293
M Stairs 1b 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 .304
T Glaus 3b 5 0 0 0 0 2 3 .287
F Thomas dh 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .239
C Thigpen pr-dh 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .348
G Zaun c 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .233
A Hill 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .277
A Lind lf 3 1 1 1 0 1 2 .228
J McDonald ss 4 2 1 0 0 1 2 .293

Totals 37 8 11 8 0 7 9

BATTING: 2B - V Wells (19, K Slowey); A Rios (18, M Guerrier). HR - V Wells (9,
3rd inning off K Slowey 1 on, 1 Out), A Rios (17, 3rd inning off K Slowey 0 on,
1 Out), M Stairs (12, 8th inning off M Guerrier 1 on, 0 Out). SF - A Rios , A
Lind. RBI - V Wells 3 (42), A Rios 2 (44), M Stairs 2 (28), A Lind (29).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Glaus 3, J McDonald 1. Team LOB -
5.

BASERUNNING: SB - A Rios (7, 2nd base off R Ortiz/M Redmond).

FIELDING: E - G Zaun (1, throw). DP: 2 (T Glaus-A Hill-M Stairs, J McDonald-A
Hill-M Stairs).


MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
L Castillo 2b 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .304
J Bartlett ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .250
J Mauer dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .317
M Cuddyer rf 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 .287
T Hunter cf 3 2 1 0 1 0 1 .306
J Kubel lf 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 .247
M Redmond c 3 0 2 2 0 0 0 .304
J Cirillo 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .264
N Punto 3b 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 .220

Totals 29 5 7 3 3 4 7

BATTING: 2B - T Hunter (21, R Halladay). RBI - M Redmond 2 (23), J Kubel (25).
2-out RBI - M Redmond. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Mauer 1.
GIDP - J Cirillo, M Cuddyer. Team LOB - 3.

BASERUNNING: SB - T Hunter (11, 2nd base off R Halladay/G Zaun), N Punto (13,
2nd base off R Halladay/G Zaun), J Bartlett (12, 2nd base off R Halladay/G
Zaun).

FIELDING: E - J Cirillo (1, catch); M Cuddyer (2, throw).


----------------------------------------------------
TORONTO - 003 020 030 -- 8
MINNESOTA - 010 220 00 -- 5
----------------------------------------------------

TORONTO ip h r er bb so hr era
R Halladay 7 6 5 5 3 4 0 4.25
S Downs 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.64
C Janssen 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.25

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
K Slowey 5 6 5 4 0 5 2 4.94
J Rincon 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.39
M Guerrier 1 1/3 4 3 3 0 1 1 2.00
D Reyes 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.96
R Ortiz 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.47

S Downs pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP - R Halladay. HBP - F Thomas (by M Guerrier). Pitches-strikes: R Halladay
112-70; S Downs 3-3; C Janssen 8-5; K Slowey 91-67; J Rincon 20-13; M Guerrier
22-14; D Reyes 2-2; R Ortiz 13-9. Ground balls-fly balls: R Halladay 13-4; S
Downs 0-0; C Janssen 3-0; K Slowey 2-9; J Rincon 1-1; M Guerrier 2-1; D Reyes
1-1; R Ortiz 3-0. Batters faced: R Halladay 29; S Downs 1; C Janssen 2; K
Slowey 22; J Rincon 3; M Guerrier 9; D Reyes 2; R Ortiz 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Bruce Froemming. 1B--Mike Winters. 2B--Brian Runge. 3B--Mark
Wegner.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL AT MINNESOTA - PITCHING CHANGE
TOR: JEREMY ACCARDO (1-2, 2.64) STARTING THE 9TH
CURRENT SCORE: TORONTO 8, MINNESOTA 5

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: J KUBEL (.247, 0-FOR-3, RBI)</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL AT MINNESOTA - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Accardo relieved C Janssen.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 0 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: TORONTO 8
MINNESOTA 5 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: J Kubel (.247, 0-FOR-3, RBI)</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL AT MINNESOTA - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: J Tyner hit for J Cirillo.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: TORONTO 8
MINNESOTA 5 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: J Tyner (.271, 0 HR, 13 RBI)</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL AT MINNESOTA - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: L Rodriguez hit for L Castillo.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, N PUNTO ON FIRST, J TYNER ON SECOND, 2 OUTS
CURRENT SCORE: TORONTO 8
MINNESOTA 5 BOTTOM, 9TH

DUE UP FOR MINNESOTA: L Rodriguez (.179, 1 HR, 5 RBI)</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TORONTO 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 3 0 8 11 1
MINNESOTA 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 5 8 2 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: TOR - ROY HALLADAY, SCOTT DOWNS (8TH), CASEY JANSSEN (8TH), JEREMY
ACCARDO (9TH) AND GREGG ZAUN

MIN - KEVIN SLOWEY, JUAN RINCON (6TH), MATT GUERRIER
(7TH), DENNYS REYES (8TH), RAMON ORTIZ (9TH) AND MIKE REDMOND

HOME RUNS: TOR - VERNON WELLS (9) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 3RD, 1 ON
ALEX RIOS (17) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
MATT STAIRS (12) OFF MATT GUERRIER IN THE 8TH, 1 ON

MIN - NONE</div>

 

Stairs hits go-ahead homer as Jays top Twins

<h3>TORONTO 8, MINNESOTA 5</h3>MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Matt Stairs hit a two-run homer in thetop of the eighth inning and Vernon Wells drove in three runs tolead the Toronto Blue Jays to an 8-5 victory over the MinnesotaTwins on Monday.

Stairs' homer was his third in Toronto's last six games andbroke a 5-5 tie, ending Twins reliever Matt Guerrier's scorelessstreak at 14 innings.

Wells finished a triple short of the cycle, hit his third homerun in the Blue Jays' last four games and drove in three runsfor the second straight contest to give Toronto the victory inthe first of a four-game series.

The late runs made a winner out of ace Roy Halladay (9-2), whoallowed five earned runs on six hits and three walks in seveninnings. Halladay struck out four and won his fourthconsecutive start despite being far from sharp.

Relievers Scott Downs and Casey Janssen combined to throw ascoreless eighth inning, and Jeremy Accardo recorded his ninthsave in 11 chances in the ninth.

Minnesota manufactured a run in the second inning when ToriiHunter drew a one-out walk. Hunter then stole second base whenHalladay looked away for too long, throwing back to first basewith Hunter already more than half-way to second. The stealproved crucial, as Jason Kubel grounded what would have been adouble-play ball to second base and Mike Redmond followed with achopper up the middle to score Hunter from third base.

But Toronto's offense bounced back in the third inning thanks inpart to shaky Twins defense.

Minnesota rookie starter Kevin Slowey struck out the first twobatters to start the inning, but Blue Jays shortstop JohnMcDonald ended up on second base after swinging through strikethree after first baseman Jeff Cirillo dropped the throw fromRedmond. Wells immediately hit a two-run home run and Alex Riosfollowed with a solo shot to give Toronto back-to-back homersfor the third time this season.

The lead was short-lived, as Halladay gave up a pair of runs aninning later.

After Michael Cuddyer drew a walk to lead off the fourth inning,Hunter doubled, Kubel grounded out to first base to scoreCuddyer and Redmond hit his second RBI single of the game toplate Hunter and knot the score at 3-3.

Toronto responded the next half-inning with Adam Lind andMcDonald hitting back-to-back singles and Wells getting histhird hit of the game to plate Lind and send McDonald to third.Rios followed with a sacrifice fly, giving the Blue Jays theirsecond two-run advantage of the game.

But once again Minnesota fought back to tie the score offHalladay in the fifth inning, with Luis Castillo and JasonBartlett hitting back-to-back one-out singles to start therally. Bartlett stole second base to put runners on second andthird, and Halladay threw a wild pitch to Joe Mauer, allowingCastillo to score. Catcher Greg Zaun tried to flip the ball toHalladay with Castillo sliding across home plate, but the throwwas off the mark, allowing Bartlett to score as well.

After Juan Rincon threw a scoreless sixth inning and thenormally steady Guerrier (1-3) retired the side in order in theseventh, but Toronto put up a three-run inning again in theeighth.

Rios doubled to lead off the inning and Stairs' second home runin three games gave the Blue Jays a two-run advantage. Aftergetting Troy Glaus to ground out, Guerrier hit Frank Thomas andallowed back-to-back singles to Zaun and Aaron Hill to load thebases. Lind hit a sacrifice fly off Dennys Reyes to giveToronto its final run.

Rios finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, two runs scored and a stealfor the Blue Jays.

Hunter went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs scored and asteal.

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">AL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
TORONTO 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 3 0 8 11 1
MINNESOTA 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 5 8 2 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: TOR - ROY HALLADAY, SCOTT DOWNS (8TH), CASEY JANSSEN (8TH), JEREMY
ACCARDO (9TH) AND GREGG ZAUN

MIN - KEVIN SLOWEY, JUAN RINCON (6TH), MATT GUERRIER
(7TH), DENNYS REYES (8TH), RAMON ORTIZ (9TH) AND MIKE REDMOND


WP - ROY HALLADAY (9-2)
LP - MATT GUERRIER (1-3)
SAVE - JEREMY ACCARDO (9)

HOME RUNS: TOR - VERNON WELLS (9) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 3RD, 1 ON
ALEX RIOS (17) OFF KEVIN SLOWEY IN THE 3RD, 0 ON
MATT STAIRS (12) OFF MATT GUERRIER IN THE 8TH, 1 ON

MIN - NONE


TIME: 2:53 ATT: 24,240

PROBABLES: TOR - SHAUN MARCUM (4-2, 3.38)
MIN - SCOTT BAKER (2-2, 6.75)</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">TORONTO (8) VS MINNESOTA (5) - FINAL

TORONTO ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
V Wells cf 5 1 3 3 0 1 0 .251
A Rios rf 4 2 3 2 0 0 2 .293
M Stairs 1b 5 1 1 2 0 0 0 .304
T Glaus 3b 5 0 0 0 0 2 3 .287
F Thomas dh 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 .239
C Thigpen pr-dh 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .348
G Zaun c 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .233
A Hill 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .277
A Lind lf 3 1 1 1 0 1 2 .228
J McDonald ss 4 2 1 0 0 1 2 .293

Totals 37 8 11 8 0 7 9

BATTING: 2B - V Wells (19, K Slowey); A Rios (18, M Guerrier). HR - V Wells (9,
3rd inning off K Slowey 1 on, 1 Out), A Rios (17, 3rd inning off K Slowey 0 on,
1 Out), M Stairs (12, 8th inning off M Guerrier 1 on, 0 Out). SF - A Rios , A
Lind. RBI - V Wells 3 (42), A Rios 2 (44), M Stairs 2 (28), A Lind (29).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Glaus 3, J McDonald 1. Team LOB -
5.

BASERUNNING: SB - A Rios (7, 2nd base off R Ortiz/M Redmond).

FIELDING: E - G Zaun (1, throw). DP: 2 (T Glaus-A Hill-M Stairs, J McDonald-A
Hill-M Stairs).


MINNESOTA ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
L Castillo 2b 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .304
a-L Rodriguez ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .177
J Bartlett ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .250
J Mauer dh 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .317
M Cuddyer rf 2 1 0 0 2 0 1 .287
T Hunter cf 3 2 1 0 1 0 1 .306
J Kubel lf 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 .246
M Redmond c 4 0 2 2 0 0 0 .302
J Cirillo 1b 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .264
b-J Tyner ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .277
N Punto 3b 3 0 1 0 1 1 0 .220

Totals 33 5 8 3 4 4 9

a-grounded to second for L Castillo in the 9th; b-singled to right for J
Cirillo in the 9th.

BATTING: 2B - T Hunter (21, R Halladay). RBI - M Redmond 2 (23), J Kubel (25).
2-out RBI - M Redmond. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - L Rodriguez 1,
J Mauer 1. GIDP - J Cirillo, M Cuddyer. Team LOB - 5.

BASERUNNING: SB - T Hunter (11, 2nd base off R Halladay/G Zaun), N Punto (13,
2nd base off R Halladay/G Zaun), J Bartlett (12, 2nd base off R Halladay/G
Zaun).

FIELDING: E - J Cirillo (1, catch); M Cuddyer (2, throw).


----------------------------------------------------
TORONTO - 003 020 030 -- 8
MINNESOTA - 010 220 000 -- 5
----------------------------------------------------

TORONTO ip h r er bb so hr era
R Halladay (W, 9-2) 7 6 5 5 3 4 0 4.25
S Downs (H, 9) 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.64
C Janssen (H, 10) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2.25
J Accardo (S, 9) 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.56

MINNESOTA ip h r er bb so hr era
K Slowey 5 6 5 4 0 5 2 4.94
J Rincon 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.39
M Guerrier (L, 1-3) 1 1/3 4 3 3 0 1 1 2.00
D Reyes 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.96
R Ortiz 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.47

S Downs pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

WP - R Halladay. HBP - F Thomas (by M Guerrier). Pitches-strikes: R Halladay
112-70; S Downs 3-3; C Janssen 8-5; J Accardo 22-13; K Slowey 91-67; J Rincon
20-13; M Guerrier 22-14; D Reyes 2-2; R Ortiz 13-9. Ground balls-fly balls: R
Halladay 13-4; S Downs 0-0; C Janssen 3-0; J Accardo 2-1; K Slowey 2-9; J
Rincon 1-1; M Guerrier 2-1; D Reyes 1-1; R Ortiz 3-0. Batters faced: R Halladay
29; S Downs 1; C Janssen 2; J Accardo 5; K Slowey 22; J Rincon 3; M Guerrier 9;
D Reyes 2; R Ortiz 4.

UMPIRES: HP--Bruce Froemming. 1B--Mike Winters. 2B--Brian Runge. 3B--Mark
Wegner.

T--2:53. Att--24,240.
Weather: INDOORS</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
AL
TORONTO 8
MINNESOTA 5 FINAL</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TORONTO (8) AT MINNESOTA (5) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MINNESOTA 2ND: M Cuddyer grounded out to third. T Hunter walked. T Hunter
stole second. J Kubel grounded out to second, T Hunter to third. M Redmond
singled to center, T Hunter scored. J Cirillo struck out looking. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) TORONTO 0, MINNESOTA 1.

TORONTO 3RD: A Lind struck out looking. J McDonald struck out swinging,
J McDonald safe at first on wild pitch by K Slowey, J McDonald to second on error
by first baseman J Cirillo. V Wells homered to left, J McDonald scored. A Rios
homered to left. M Stairs grounded out to first. T Glaus flied out to center.
(3 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) TORONTO 3, MINNESOTA 1.

MINNESOTA 4TH: M Cuddyer walked. T Hunter doubled to deep left, M Cuddyer
to third. J Kubel grounded out to first, M Cuddyer scored, T Hunter to third.
M Redmond singled to right, T Hunter scored. J Cirillo grounded into double
play, third to second to first, M Redmond out at second.(2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) TORONTO 3, MINNESOTA 3.

TORONTO 5TH: A Lind singled to center. J McDonald singled to left, A Lind
to second. V Wells singled to center, A Lind scored, J McDonald to third.
A Rios hit sacrifice fly to center, J McDonald scored. M Stairs lined out to
right, V Wells to second on throwing error by right fielder M Cuddyer. T Glaus
struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) TORONTO 5, MINNESOTA 3.

MINNESOTA 5TH: N Punto struck out swinging. L Castillo reached on infield
single to third. J Bartlett singled to right, L Castillo to third. J Bartlett
stole second. L Castillo scored, J Bartlett to third on wild pitch by
R Halladay, J Bartlett scored on throwing error by catcher G Zaun. J Mauer
grounded out to second. M Cuddyer walked. T Hunter flied out to left.
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) TORONTO 5, MINNESOTA 5.

TORONTO 8TH: A Rios doubled to left. M Stairs homered to right, A Rios
scored. T Glaus grounded out to third. F Thomas hit by pitch. G Zaun singled
to left, F Thomas to second. C Thigpen ran for F Thomas. A Hill singled to
left, C Thigpen to third, G Zaun to second. D Reyes relieved M Guerrier.
A Lind hit sacrifice fly to center, C Thigpen scored. J McDonald grounded out to
shortstop. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 8, MINNESOTA 5.</div>

 

AL: TORONTO at MINNESOTA

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TORONTO (8) AT MINNESOTA (5) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Toronto Starting Lineups -- V Wells CF, A Rios RF, M Stairs 1B, T Glaus 3B,
F Thomas DH, G Zaun C, A Hill 2B, A Lind LF, J McDonald SS, R Halladay RHP.

Minnesota Starting Lineups -- L Castillo 2B, J Bartlett SS, J Mauer DH,
M Cuddyer RF, T Hunter CF, J Kubel LF, M Redmond C, J Cirillo 1B, N Punto 3B,
K Slowey RHP.

Umpires -- Bruce Froemming (HP), Mike Winters (1B), Brian Runge (2B),
Mark Wegner (3B).

Gametime Weather: INDOORS.


TORONTO 1ST: V Wells doubled to deep right center. A Rios grounded out to
shortstop. M Stairs fouled out to third, V Wells to third. T Glaus struck out
swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TORONTO 0, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 1ST: L Castillo struck out swinging. J Bartlett grounded out to
third. J Mauer grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 0,
MINNESOTA 0.

TORONTO 2ND: F Thomas flied out to center. G Zaun popped out to third.
A Hill lined out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 0, MINNESOTA 0.

MINNESOTA 2ND: M Cuddyer grounded out to third. T Hunter walked. T Hunter
stole second. J Kubel grounded out to second, T Hunter to third. M Redmond
singled to center, T Hunter scored. J Cirillo struck out looking. (1 Run,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) TORONTO 0, MINNESOTA 1.

TORONTO 3RD: A Lind struck out looking. J McDonald struck out swinging,
J McDonald safe at first on wild pitch by K Slowey, J McDonald to second on error
by first baseman J Cirillo. V Wells homered to left, J McDonald scored. A Rios
homered to left. M Stairs grounded out to first. T Glaus flied out to center.
(3 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) TORONTO 3, MINNESOTA 1.

MINNESOTA 3RD: N Punto singled to center. N Punto stole second. L Castillo
struck out swinging. J Bartlett grounded out to third. J Mauer flied out to
left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TORONTO 3, MINNESOTA 1.

TORONTO 4TH: F Thomas struck out swinging. G Zaun popped out to third.
A Hill flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 3, MINNESOTA 1.

MINNESOTA 4TH: M Cuddyer walked. T Hunter doubled to deep left, M Cuddyer
to third. J Kubel grounded out to first, M Cuddyer scored, T Hunter to third.
M Redmond singled to right, T Hunter scored. J Cirillo grounded into double
play, third to second to first, M Redmond out at second.(2 Runs, 2 Hits,
0 Errors) TORONTO 3, MINNESOTA 3.

TORONTO 5TH: A Lind singled to center. J McDonald singled to left, A Lind
to second. V Wells singled to center, A Lind scored, J McDonald to third.
A Rios hit sacrifice fly to center, J McDonald scored. M Stairs lined out to
right, V Wells to second on throwing error by right fielder M Cuddyer. T Glaus
struck out swinging. (2 Runs, 3 Hits, 1 Error) TORONTO 5, MINNESOTA 3.

MINNESOTA 5TH: N Punto struck out swinging. L Castillo reached on infield
single to third. J Bartlett singled to right, L Castillo to third. J Bartlett
stole second. L Castillo scored, J Bartlett to third on wild pitch by
R Halladay, J Bartlett scored on throwing error by catcher G Zaun. J Mauer
grounded out to second. M Cuddyer walked. T Hunter flied out to left.
(2 Runs, 2 Hits, 1 Error) TORONTO 5, MINNESOTA 5.

TORONTO 6TH: J Rincon relieved K Slowey. F Thomas struck out swinging.
G Zaun flied out to center. A Hill grounded out to pitcher. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) TORONTO 5, MINNESOTA 5.

MINNESOTA 6TH: J Kubel grounded out to third. M Redmond flied out to
right. J Cirillo grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
TORONTO 5, MINNESOTA 5.

TORONTO 7TH: M Guerrier relieved J Rincon. A Lind grounded out to second.
J McDonald fouled out to right. V Wells struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) TORONTO 5, MINNESOTA 5.

MINNESOTA 7TH: N Punto bunt grounded out to pitcher. L Castillo flied out
to left. J Bartlett grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 5,
MINNESOTA 5.

TORONTO 8TH: A Rios doubled to left. M Stairs homered to right, A Rios
scored. T Glaus grounded out to third. F Thomas hit by pitch. G Zaun singled
to left, F Thomas to second. C Thigpen ran for F Thomas. A Hill singled to
left, C Thigpen to third, G Zaun to second. D Reyes relieved M Guerrier.
A Lind hit sacrifice fly to center, C Thigpen scored. J McDonald grounded out to
shortstop. (3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors) TORONTO 8, MINNESOTA 5.

MINNESOTA 8TH: S Downs relieved R Halladay. J Mauer singled to right.
C Janssen relieved S Downs. M Cuddyer grounded into double play, shortstop to
second to first, J Mauer out at second. T Hunter grounded out to shortstop.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) TORONTO 8, MINNESOTA 5.

TORONTO 9TH: R Ortiz relieved D Reyes. V Wells grounded out to third.
A Rios singled to center. A Rios stole second. M Stairs grounded out to second,
A Rios to third. T Glaus grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
TORONTO 8, MINNESOTA 5.

MINNESOTA 9TH: J Accardo relieved C Janssen. J Kubel popped out to third.
M Redmond grounded out to third. J Tyner hit for J Cirillo. J Tyner singled to
right. J Tyner to second on fielder's indifference. N Punto walked.
L Rodriguez hit for L Castillo. L Rodriguez grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) TORONTO 8, MINNESOTA 5.</div>

 

Stairs hits go-ahead homer as Jays top Twins

<h3>TORONTO 8, MINNESOTA 5</h3>MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Matt Stairs hit a two-run homer in thetop of the eighth inning and Vernon Wells drove in three runs tolead the Toronto Blue Jays to an 8-5 victory over the MinnesotaTwins on Monday.

Stairs' homer was his third in Toronto's last six games andbroke a 5-5 tie, ending Minnesota reliever Matt Guerrier'sscoreless streak at 14 innings.

Wells finished a triple short of the cycle, hit his third homerun in the Blue Jays' last four games and drove in three runsfor the second straight contest to give Toronto the victory inthe first of a four-game series and its fourth straight winoverall.

"Its a nice way to start a long road trip," Stairs said. "Matthas pitched well for those guys all year and I think he wanted afastball inside and it just tailed back over the plate and Iwas fortunate to barrel it and hit it out of the ball park."

The late runs made a winner out of ace Roy Halladay (9-2), whoallowed five earned runs on six hits and three walks in seveninnings. Halladay struck out four and won his fourthconsecutive start despite being far from sharp.

Relievers Scott Downs and Casey Janssen combined to throw ascoreless eighth inning, and Jeremy Accardo recorded his ninthsave in 11 chances in the ninth.

"It was a battle for Doc tonight," manager John Gibbons said."He never could really get his curveball going. And theyattacked him and put good at-bats on him. When they get onbase, they can run you out of the park."

Minnesota manufactured a run in the second inning, beginningwhen Torii Hunter drew a one-out walk. Hunter then stole secondbase when Halladay looked away for too long, throwing back tofirst base with Hunter already more than half-way to second.The steal proved crucial, as Jason Kubel grounded what wouldhave been a double-play ball to second base and Mike Redmondfollowed with a chopper up the middle to score Hunter from thirdbase.

But Toronto's offense bounced back in the third inning thanks inpart to shaky Twins defense.

Minnesota rookie starter Kevin Slowey struck out the first twobatters to start the inning, but Blue Jays shortstop JohnMcDonald ended up on second base after swinging through strikethree after first baseman Jeff Cirillo dropped the throw fromRedmond. Wells immediately hit a two-run home run and Alex Riosfollowed with a solo shot to give Toronto back-to-back homersfor the third time this season.

Slowey has allowed nine home runs in five starts this season,including seven in his last three starts. He has allowed fourearned runs in three of his last four outings.

"A lot of fastballs," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He'snot slowing the ball down enough right now. He had good controlon the outer half, but you can't live in this league withfastballs."

But the lead was short-lived, as Halladay gave up a pair of runsan inning later.

After Michael Cuddyer drew a walk to lead off the fourth inning,Hunter doubled, Kubel grounded out to first base to scoreCuddyer and Redmond hit his second RBI single of the game toplate Hunter and knot the score at 3-3.

Toronto responded the next half-inning with Adam Lind andMcDonald hitting back-to-back singles and Wells getting histhird hit of the game to plate Lind and send McDonald to third.Rios followed with a sacrifice fly, giving the Blue Jays theirsecond two-run advantage of the game.

"Offensively we've really swung the bats well the last fewgames," Halladay said. "Its a nice thing going out there knowingyou don't always have to be perfect. You can grind your waythrough some of those and we'll still find a way."

But once again Minnesota fought back to tie the score offHalladay in the fifth inning, with Luis Castillo and JasonBartlett hitting back-to-back one-out singles to start therally.

Bartlett stole second base to put runners on second and third,and Halladay threw a wild pitch to Joe Mauer, allowing Castilloto score. Catcher Gregg Zaun tried to flip the ball to Halladaywith Castillo sliding across home plate, but the throw was offthe mark, allowing Bartlett to score as well.

After Juan Rincon threw a scoreless sixth inning and thenormally steady Guerrier (1-3) retired the side in order in theseventh, but Toronto put up a three-run inning again in theeighth.

Rios doubled to lead off the inning and Stairs' second home runin three games gave the Blue Jays a two-run advantage. Aftergetting Troy Glaus to ground out, Guerrier hit Frank Thomas andallowed back-to-back singles to Zaun and Aaron Hill to load thebases. Lind hit a sacrifice fly off Dennys Reyes to giveToronto its final run.

Gardenhire said after the game that he has needed his bullpentoo much recently would like to see his starters get deeper intogames. Guerrier retorted, "not at all," however, when asked ifthe relievers have been overworked.

"I feel fine," Guerrier said. "It was the wrong time. If we'redown by a couple and I give up some runs, its not really a bigdeal. But a game like today where we come back and score someruns off Halladay, you want to win that game. It's frustratingfor me."

Rios finished 3-for-4 with two RBI, two runs scored and a stealfor the Blue Jays.

Hunter went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs scored and asteal.