Twins open homestand with loss to Blue Jays as Ryan Jeffers ejected after critical call

Bobby Nightengale, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jun 6, 2025

Published in Baseball

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MINNEAPOLIS — Ryan Jeffers, pinch hitting with two runners on base and none out in the eighth inning Friday, reached to take off his elbow guard after watching a full-count pitch. When plate umpire Jordan Baker rang him up for a called third strike, he nearly slammed his bat.

Jeffers continued to protest the low strike as he started walking toward the dugout, and Baker tossed him out of the game, Jeffers’ first career ejection.

The Twins, who had three walk-off wins during their last homestand, missed their chance at a bases-loaded, no-outs opportunity in a three-run game. Royce Lewis followed two batters later with an RBI single, but the Twins’ rally fell short in a 6-4 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field.

It was just the third loss for the Twins in their past 15 home games.

The Twins weren’t without their faults. They supplied Bailey Ober with an early three-run lead, and that is typically all he needs when he is on the mound.

Except Ober, who hadn’t given up more than three runs in a start since his disastrous season debut, was undone by a couple of homers. Ober completed seven innings, his longest start since April 28, but he gave up five runs on five hits and a walk.

Pitching with a one-run lead in the fifth inning, Ober yielded a leadoff single to Ernie Clement. Two batters later, Andrés Giménez lofted a fly ball toward the right-field wall. Twins right fielder Matt Wallner, playing in his first home game since April 15 because of a stint on the injured list, misjudged how close he was to the wall and watched the ball drop a few feet over his head for a double.

The Twins drew in their infielders with runners on second and third, one out, and a one-run lead. Bo Bichette responded with a two-run bloop single into shallow center field, connecting on a pitch that was well off the plate. Ober bent at the waist as Giménez easily scored from second base.

Wallner, met in front of the dugout by a teammate at the end of the inning, shook his head before he descended the dugout stairs.

Ober, who carried a 2.43 ERA over his previous 11 starts, put on only one baserunner through the first three innings. To begin the fourth, he hit Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a sinker that ran too far inside. Blue Jays right fielder Addison Barger bashed the next pitch, an elevated 88-mph fastball, over the right-field wall for a two-run homer.

It was Barger’s fifth home run in the past week.

George Springer added a solo homer off Ober in the sixth inning, driving a hanging sweeper over the center-field wall. Ober had given up two homers over his last 43 innings before surrendering two against the Blue Jays.

Twins hitters knew they would receive probably one at-bat against Blue Jays right-hander Paxton Schultz, who served as an opener in front of lefty Eric Lauer. They made the most of it.

Trevor Larnach hammered a 421-foot, solo homer the second deck in right field in the first inning, his 10th home run of the season. Larnach, one of the team’s hottest hitters during their previous 10-game road trip, held the finish of his swing for a couple of moments before peeking at his teammates in the dugout.

The Twins started the second inning with two runners in scoring position and none out. Brooks Lee led off with a line-drive single, the ball deflecting off the glove of a leaping Guerrero at first base, to end a nine-pitch at-bat. Lewis, who reached base in all four of his plate appearances, followed with a double to the wall in left-center field.

Lee scored on a groundout before Christian Vázquez delivered a two-out RBI single that hit the top of the left-field wall, his first extra-base hit since May 16. Schultz gave up four hits and three runs against the 10 batters he faced.

After Lauer entered for the third inning, the Twins didn’t have another baserunner reach second base until the eighth. Trevor Larnach drew a walk against lefty Brandon Little and Ty France followed with a single to right field.

Jeffers was called out on strikes, and Brooks Lee struck out on a curveball in the dirt. After Lewis dropped an RBI single to center in a seven-pitch at-bat, Little escaped with the tying run at first base with a groundout off the bat of Kody Clemens.