BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (Interstat) — Bailey Ober pitched six strong innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with two strikeouts, and the Minnesota Twins defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 7-1 on Thursday at Target Field.

Ober improved to 3-1. Kevin Gausman took the loss, falling to 2-2 after giving up four earned runs over 5⅔ innings.

Ryan Jeffers hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead. Austin Martin added an RBI single in the sixth. The Twins broke the game open with three runs in the eighth on Josh Bell’s two-run single and a sacrifice fly.

Daulton Varsho homered for Toronto, accounting for the Blue Jays’ only run. Each team had six hits.

Byron Buxton went 3 for 4 with a home run and an RBI for Minnesota.

Attendance was 16,985. The game lasted 2 hours, 29 minutes. The Blue Jays dropped to 14-17, while the Twins improved to 14-18.