MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥 Jos茅 Berr铆os made another solid start. Alejandro Kirk delivered a timely hit. Daulton Varsho did a little bit of everything.
The Toronto Blue Jays took another step toward a turnaround at the end of a rough month, posting their first series win in four ties in well-rounded fashion.
Berr铆os pitched around a season-high five walks and into the sixth inning for Toronto to beat his old team, and the Blue Jays blanked the Minnesota Twins 3-0 on Sunday.
鈥淗opefully, this kind of springboards us forward,鈥 manager John Schneider said after the Blue Jays played their 17th game in 17 days.
Kirk hit a in the second inning that held up for Berr铆os (5-4), who has allowed two or fewer runs in seven of his last nine turns after a rough start.
Daulton Varsho scored all the way from first base on Kirk's hit. Handling center field for Kevin Kiermaier 鈥 the day after he twice had a leaping catch attempt when those balls bounced off his glove and into the grass berm 鈥 Varsho was superb. He assisted on the third out of the fourth inning when he fielded a single and at third.
Then in the eighth, Varsho to take a homer away from Carlos Correa.
鈥淔or as magnified as he was yesterday, I鈥檓 thrilled that he gets to be celebrated today,鈥 Schneider said.
Jordan Romano recorded his 12th save with a scoreless ninth, allowing a two-out single to rookie Matt Wallner. He was 2 for 2 with two walks and has reached base in eight straight plate appearances.
The Blue Jays (28-26), who are in last place in the AL East, are just 10-17 in their last 27 games.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to go through a rough stretch at some point during the year, and for us it鈥檚 like right now,鈥 Varsho said. 鈥淗opefully we can get hot here and finish off the year strong.鈥
With at the top of the rotation, the Blue Jays need several more starts like this from Berr铆os, who was traded by the Twins at the deadline two years ago. The right-hander, who is 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA in his last five starts, helped lead a players-only meeting on Thursday after the Blue Jays lost three out of four to division leader Tampa Bay.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just on us to stay back, get relaxed and try to be ourselves,鈥 Berr铆os said.
Bailey Ober (3-2) finished five innings for Minnesota for the fourth time in five May starts, with seven strikeouts in a bad-luck loss.
The Twins (27-26) had their lead in the AL Central cut to one game over Detroit (25-26). They've led the division for 58 of 60 days this season.
鈥淓very time the opportunities were in front of us, every time there was something we could have done, it felt like we went in the wrong direction,鈥 manager Rocco Baldelli said.
JULIEN'S LAPSES
Twins rookie Edouard Julien, a native of Quebec City, Canada, whose favorite boyhood team was the Blue Jays, had a rough afternoon. He made a diving stop of Varsho's two-out single in the second, but he dropped the ball before he could make the throw to first. The play was ruled a hit.
In the bottom of the inning, the Twins had the bases loaded with none out 鈥 for a few seconds. Julien rounded second base too far, ignoring the runner in front of him, and was thrown out by the catcher Kirk.
鈥淭hose are mental cramps right there,鈥 Baldelli said.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Blue Jays: Kiermaier was on the bench after being removed from the game on Saturday with discomfort in his right lower back. 鈥淎ll things are trending in the right direction,鈥 Schneider said.
Twins: RHP Emilio Pag谩n was pulled with a strained left hip flexor after seven pitches in the seventh.
UP NEXT
Blue Jays: LHP Yusei Kikuchi (5-2, 4.56 ERA) starts on Tuesday night against Milwaukee after a return home and a day off. RHP Adrian Houser (1-0, 2.25 ERA) takes the mound for the Brewers.
Twins: RHP Sonny Gray (4-0, 1.82 ERA) pitches the opener of a three-game series at Houston on Monday afternoon. RHP J.P France (1-1, 3.43 ERA) starts for the Astros.
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