The Twins trailed by a touchdown before the first inning was over on a somber Saturday night when they finally, mercifully lost 15-0 to Toronto at Target Field.
The Blue Jays hit four home runs — three of them two-run shots, including two in a row to start the game — and gave former Twins star José Berríos all the cushion he would need before his team made an out.
Toronto led 7-0 after the first inning, 9-0 after two and 11-0 after three. The Blue Jays chased Twins rookie Zebby Matthews from the game after two innings, replaced by a succession of relief help that totaled four by night’s end while manager Rocco Baldelli tried to minimize the burden on his bullpen.
“It’s obviously very frustrating,” Matthews said. “My job is to go out there and give the team the best chance to win, and I didn’t do that tonight.”
After the Twins got one inning of relief out of Michael Tonkin, three out of Scott Blewett and one out of Caleb Thielbar, infielder Kyle Farmer pitched the final two innings, lobbing the ball to the plate while giving up five hits and three runs. It was his second career pitching appearance, after he recorded four outs for Cincinnati against the Cubs in a game in 2019.
“What’s funny about it was that that Chicago Cubs team was a veteran team, and they were having fun with it,” Farmer recalled. “These guys are all young guys over there, and they were taking it pretty seriously.
“The plate looks a lot smaller from the mound than it does the batter’s box, and it’s a lonely spot on that mound. I felt like I was on an island out there by myself. But it was fun.”
Manager Rocco Baldelli noted that earlier this season, Willi Castro and Matt Wallner were the position players called on to eat innings late in blowouts. “We hadn’t done it with Farm yet,” Baldelli said. “What do you know, he can throw strikes at 37 miles per hour. That’s a skill very few people have. That was pretty impressive, the ability to just stand up there and throw strikes. He actually picked us up on a day we really needed it.
