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Instant Reaction: Blue Jays’ offence struggles in 7-1 loss to Minnesota
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Photo credit: © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images
Michael Coyle
Apr 30, 2026, 22:30 EDTUpdated: Apr 30, 2026, 23:51 EDT
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Just like the weather in Minnesota, the Toronto Blue Jays’ bats went cold on Thursday night. 
The Blue Jays fell to the Minnesota Twins 7-1 in the opening game of their four-game series. The Blue Jays’ offence was held to only six hits, with the only run they scored coming on a Daulton Varsho solo home run, his fourth of the 2026 campaign.
Besides the Varsho home run, the Blue Jays had no runners reach third base as Bailey Ober, Anthony Banda, Andrew Morris, and Justin Topa combined to keep the Blue Jays’ offence in check.
Kevin Gausman made his seventh start of the regular season, in what was his worst to date. The 35-year-old posted a line of 5.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, allowing more than three earned runs for the first time this year. 
He cruised through the first three innings, allowing only one hit, a double by Byron Buxton to open the game, requiring only 32 pitches to get through the game’s opening three frames. 
It was the fourth inning that brought trouble. Gausman walked Trevor Larnach to lead off the inning, but Ryan Jeffers won an eight-pitch battle by swatting a two-run home run to left field. The two RBIs on the night raised Jeffers’ season total to 20, good for the Twins team lead. Gausman retired the next three batters, Josh Bell, Austin Martin, and Kody Clemens, in order to get back into the dugout. 
After a clean bottom of the fifth, Gausman opened the sixth by allowing a solo home run to Buxton to left field before another Larnach walk came around to score on a bloop single by the former Blue Jays first-round draft pick, Martin. The single would end Gausman’s night after 94 pitches. 
Tommy Nance entered for Gausman and put together his best outing of the 2026 season, striking three of the four batters he faced, including Twins slugger Royce Lewis. The outing lowered Nance’s ERA to 5.14 on the year. 
Mason Fluharty followed Nance, and that is where the wheels fell off. The Blue Jays’ defence committed two throwing errors, first by Kazuma Okamoto, then by Andrés Giménez, which charged to unearned runs to Fluharty’s line. 
Due to the errors, Fluharty’s pitch count climbed to 27, requiring manager John Schneider to bring in Joe Mantiply, who retired Luke Keaschall on a sacrifice fly, then shortstop Brooks Lee on a flyball that Varsho tracked down in center. 
The Blue Jays’ offence went quiet in the ninth against Topa. After a leadoff walk by Ernie Clement, the side was retired two batters later, first by a Davis Schneider flyout to right, then Giménez hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
A day after mustering eight runs on 10 hits, the Blue Jays’ offence faltered, as George Springer was the only Blue Jay to record more than one hit. This was the 35-year-old’s first start since returning from the injured list, and Springer is 3-for-6 with one RBI since rejoining the active roster. 
The Blue Jays will look to rebound on Friday night when Patrick Corbin takes the ball for his fifth start of the season against former Blue Jays minor leaguer, Simeon Woods Richardson. Woods Richardson faced the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre earlier this season, picking up the loss after allowing five runs through four innings, in a 10-4 Blue Jays victory. 
First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. at Target Field. 
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