Twins 7, Blue Jays 1: Bailey Ober, Man. He Just Keeps Living.

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Bailey Ober - 6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K (88 pitches, 56 strikes (64% strikes))
Home Runs: Ryan Jeffers (4), Byron Buxton (8)
Top 3 WPA: Bailey Ober (0.19), Byron Buxton (0.16), Ryan Jeffers (0.16)
Win Probability Chart

The Twins came into the series opener against Toronto looking to stop the bleeding, after a pair of frustrating late losses to the Seattle Mariners. Behind a sharp start from Bailey Ober and a timely offensive breakout, they did exactly that.

This wasn’t a game defined by chaos or a late collapse. Instead, the Twins steadily took control, turning a tight battle into a comfortable 7-1 win. They got contributions up and down the lineup, capitalized on mistakes, and rode strong pitching to get back in the win column.

BAILEY OBER SETS THE TONE
Ober didn’t overpower hitters, but he didn’t need to. From the start, he was in control. Despite allowing a leadoff single in the first, he worked efficiently, needing just 18 pitches to navigate five hitters. That became a theme. He pounded the zone early and often, throwing first-pitch strikes to 75% of the batters he faced, and kept Toronto off balance all night.

Through three innings, he was sitting at just 42 pitches with seven whiffs, even with his fastball hovering below 88 MPH. It wasn’t about velocity; it was about command and sequencing.

The only real damage came in the fourth, when Daulton Varsho turned on a fastball up and in and sent it over the right-field seats for a solo homer. Outside of that, Ober was in complete control. He cruised through six strong innings, marking his third straight quality start and his fourth consecutive outing of six or more innings. He exited in the seventh after allowing a leadoff bloop single, but by then, his job was more than done.

MISSED CHANCES, THEN A BREAKTHROUGH
Early on, it looked like it might be another frustrating night offensively.

The Twins put immediate pressure on Kevin Gausman in the first, getting a leadoff double from Byron Buxton, but they couldn’t bring him home. It set the tone for the early innings, when opportunities were there, but the big hit was not. For three innings, Gausman largely kept them quiet despite some loud contact, including a deep flyout from Josh Bell that likely leaves the yard on a warmer night.

The fourth inning changed everything. After Trevor Larnach worked a leadoff walk, Ryan Jeffers stepped in and worked an eight-pitch at-bat. It ended on a fastball over the heart of the plate, and Jeffers launched it into the bullpen in left-center for a two-run homer, flipping a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead.

It was the swing they had been missing early, and it shifted the momentum for good.

ADDING ON AND PULLING AWAY
Once the Twins grabbed the lead, they didn’t let up. In the sixth, Buxton provided another spark. Twins legend Justin Morneau noted on the TV broadcast how well Buxton was hitting when he saw the other team’s starting pitcher for a third time. About three seconds later, Buxton homered. He turned on an inside fastball and sent it out for his team-leading eighth homer of the season. From there, the lineup kept grinding.

Larnach drew his second walk of the game and moved into scoring position, setting the stage for Austin Martin, who lined a ball into center to drive in another run and chase Gausman from the game. It marked the first time all season Gausman had allowed more than three runs in a start.

But the biggest inning came late. In the eighth, the Twins took full advantage of defensive miscues from Toronto. After Buxton’s third hit of the night, a misplayed Jeffers pop-up and an errant throw allowed him to reach third, and Bell followed by ripping a ball off the wall to bring him home. Moments later, another throwing error allowed Jeffers to score, making it 6-1.

Luke Keaschall drove in their seventh run on a sac fly, and the Twins pushed the game out of reach, turning a competitive matchup into a 7-1 advantage.

BULLPEN SLAMS THE DOOR
With Ober handing things off in the seventh, the bullpen took care of the rest.

Anthony Banda navigated a quick matchup against lefties before turning things over to Andrew Morris, who continued to impress. Morris worked efficiently through the end of the seventh and the eighth, allowing minimal traffic and keeping Toronto from mounting any kind of response. In the ninth, Justin Topa came on to close it out. Nothing came of a leadoff walk; a game-ending double play capped off the night. Clean, efficient, and exactly what the Twins needed.

After a couple of tough losses, this was a much-needed win. Strong starting pitching, timely hitting, and capitalizing on mistakes; it was a complete performance that got them back on track.

What’s Next?
The Twins and Blue Jays are back in action tomorrow night for game two of the series. Simeon Woods Richardson is on the hill for Minnesota, taking on his former team, and lefty Patrick Corbin will throw for Toronto. We saw this same pitching matchup in these teams’ first series in mid-April, with Toronto winning that one 10-4. First pitch is set for 7:10 PM CT.

Postgame Interviews
Coming Soon!

Bullpen Usage Chart

	SUN	MON	TUES	WED	THUR	TOT
Rogers	0	14	0	13	0	27
Morris	0	40	0	0	19	59
Banda	9	0	0	22	14	45
Funderburk	20	0	15	0	0	35
Garcia	0	0	23	0	0	23
Sands	7	0	13	0	0	20
Topa	10	0	0	0	12	22
Orze	0	0	0	28	0	28

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[Parfigliano]

I think Ober's pitching is so far the surprise of the season.

[Linus]

Fun game to watch as both starters were throwing strikes and working quickly. One positive I would like to point out (since I complained about it endlessly) is how much cleaner the Twins are playing. Mental mistakes are way down and they are being aggressive on the bases without running into outs. Many recent games where the other teams sloppy play was a major factor, not the Twins. 

[JD-TWINS]

Ober is 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA!

Banda had 2nd straight decent outing.

Topa was solid with his ground ball approach.

Morris solid in a shorter outing - decent stuff!

Buxton had 3 of 6 total hits …….. 4 walks ……. put up 7 runs with some HELP from the Jays defense. Fortunate!

Larnach 0-2 but 2 walks and 2 runs scored……. Martin 1-3 with a walk…….. along with Buxton’s surge, these guys are making offense go.

Bottom 4 guys in line-up were 0-13 with 1 walk and a sac fly between them.

[JADBP]

21 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Ober is 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA!

Banda had 2nd straight decent outing.

Topa was solid with his ground ball approach.

Morris solid in a shorter outing - decent stuff!

Buxton had 3 of 6 total hits …….. 4 walks ……. put up 7 runs with some HELP from the Jays defense. Fortunate!

Larnach 0-2 but 2 walks and 2 runs scored……. Martin 1-3 with a walk…….. along with Buxton’s surge, these guys are making offense go.

Bottom 4 guys in line-up were 0-13 with 1 walk and a sac fly between them.

How many times are we going to let Outman and Wallner flail away at the plate before we bring up someone who can actually hit the damn ball??????  This is so frustrating!! 

[DataNerd]

Ober is going to be a case study in pitcher evaluation.  No idea why this is working.  He got a whiff on an 86mph fastball in the zone.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

Why are the Toronto Blue Jays breaking so many bats this season?

[TJSweens]

Ober has really transitioned well into a baffle em with b*llspit pitcher. 

[Aggies7]

I like winning

[krink]

54 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Why are the Toronto Blue Jays breaking so many bats this season?

My bet? Corked.

But on a serious note, this was one of those games that made being a Twins fan worth it. Even if it hadn’t been such a trouncing, these guys did great. And we were doing well before the Jays defense fell apart. Don’t want to say anything more for fear of jinxing us!

[h2oface]

Ober and the pen catch Toronto on an off day, perhaps? Anytime the pen comes through it has become shocking. And Ober AND the pen? I’m shocked. 

Interesting tidbit about Buxton’s year so far. Of his 8 total homers, 6 are solo and 2 2-run. He has only 11 total RBI. 8 are himself from his own homers, a 2 from runners on before he homered. So he has a single RBI from all other opportunities with runners on in scoring position or multiple runners on. 1 all year. He does have 23 runs scored (15 from non-homers). Perhaps more of his hits will drive more runs in in the future.