MINNEAPOLIS – An opportunity to reach the .500 mark for the first time since April 4 slipped away for the Toronto Blue Jays in the finale of a four-game set with the Minnesota Twins amid wider developments for their pitching picture.
Trey Yesavage allowed only one run over four innings of a 4-3 loss while breaking the 80-pitch barrier and generating more whiff (15) than in his season-debut (five), although he was unable to replicate the pitch efficiency from that outing. Still, his splitter looked much more like the weapon he yielded last fall, an important step in his progression.
His progress stood in contrast to Jose Berrios, who allowed seven runs on six hits – three of them homers – and four walks during his latest rehab start for triple-A Buffalo, when his fastball averaged 90.1 m.p.h. and topped out at 92.1.
That’s the second straight start in which his stuff was down as he works to return from a stress fracture in his right elbow, a worrying trend, given that priorities for him Sunday included re-establishing his fastball command and velocity.
The Blue Jays had hoped to reinsert him into the rotation for the next turn, which raises the stakes for how Eric Lauer fares Monday at the Tampa Bay Rays. In limbo since Yesavage’s return bumped him to the bullpen, the left-hander is expected to serve either as the starter or throw bulk behind an opener, and if Berrios needs more time on rehab, a pathway back to a regular turn is there for the taking.
As all that played out, a frustrating day unrolled at Target Field, as Braydon Fisher gave up three runs in the fourth as the Twins opened up a 4-0 lead, one they didn’t relinquish in securing a series split.
The Blue Jays were not without their chances, especially in the sixth when they put men on the corners to open the inning – Jesus Sanchez stumbled coming around first on a ball in the gap to turn a double into a single – but came away with only one run on Daulton Varsho’s clever bunt single.
Kazuma Okamoto homered for a third straight game in the ninth, a two-run shot off Justin Topa, to make it a one-run game, but they were otherwise stymied by the Twins bullpen – including 3.2 shutout innings from Andrew Morris – once ace Joe Ryan left two batters in due to elbow soreness.
Lenyn Sosa hit into a game-ending double play with two on.
Tyler Heieneman’s status was also in question as he left the game after flying out with the bases loaded to end the sixth, replaced by Brandon Valenzuela for the bottom half.