TORONTO (Interstat) — The Minnesota Twins erupted for eight runs in the second and third innings, turning a Sunday afternoon affair at Rogers Centre into a rout and securing a series victory with an 8-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

A crowd of 37,804 watched the Twins batter Toronto starter Max Scherzer and a parade of relievers, capitalizing on walks and timely hits to build an insurmountable early lead. The victory improved Minnesota’s record to 9-7, while the Blue Jays fell to 6-9.

The game’s decisive sequence began in the top of the second inning against Scherzer. After Josh Bell walked and Matt Wallner was hit by a pitch, third baseman Tristan Gray launched a three-run homer to right field, staking the Twins to a 3-1 lead. Scherzer, the future Hall of Famer, was uncharacteristically wild and unable to contain the damage.

The Twins immediately piled on in the third, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring five more runs to blow the game open. Kody Clemens led off the frame with a solo home run to right-center, chasing Scherzer from the game. The Twins then tormented the Toronto bullpen. Trevor Larnach and Luke Keaschall singled, and Bell worked another walk to load the bases. Matt Wallner delivered a sharp RBI single to center, and Victor Caratini followed with a sacrifice fly. After Gray was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, Brooks Lee laced a two-run double down the left-field line, capping the outburst and pushing the Minnesota lead to 8-1.

That offensive explosion rendered the rest of the game a formality, as Twins starter Taj Bradley navigated traffic effectively over five innings to earn the win. Bradley, who improved to 3-0, allowed one run on seven hits and three walks, striking out four. He consistently worked out of trouble, with the Blue Jays stranding eight runners during his tenure. The Toronto lineup collected 12 hits in the game but went 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position and left 13 men on base.

Toronto’s lone runs came in the first and seventh innings. In the first, Ernie Clement doubled and scored on an RBI single by Daulton Varsho. In the seventh, Clement singled, advanced on a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. single, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jesús Sánchez. Beyond that, the Blue Jays could not muster a sustained rally, hitting into three double plays to stifle potential threats.

Scherzer took the loss for Toronto, his record dropping to 1-2. He was charged with six earned runs on four hits and two walks in just two-plus innings of work. The Blue Jays used seven relievers — Mason Fluharty, Jeff Hoffman, Louis Varland, Joe Mantiply, Tommy Nance, and Tyler Rogers — who combined to allow two runs over the final seven frames.

The Twins managed only eight hits but maximized their opportunities, going 4 for 8 with runners in scoring position during their two big innings. Gray’s three-run homer was the biggest blow, while Lee’s two-run double provided the exclamation point. The victory gave Minnesota the series, two games to one, after the teams split the first two contests.

The game time was 2 hours, 56 minutes. The result defied pregame projections from Interstat, whose ELO system gave Toronto a 64.4% probability to win. The combined score of 10 runs went under the pregame over/under line of 8.

The Twins will now head home to open a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox on Monday. The Blue Jays embark on a lengthy road trip, beginning with a three-game set in Milwaukee against the Brewers on Tuesday.