Toronto Blue Jays vs Minnesota Twins Match Player Stats On Sep 15, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 15, 2017

MINNEAPOLIS -- Josh Donaldson and Kevin Pillar each hit solo homers, and J.A. Happ pitched into the seventh inning to propel the Toronto Blue Jays to a 4-3 win against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

Donaldson had three hits and two RBIs as Toronto came out on top in another close game. The Blue Jays have played 17 one-run contests in their last 31 games, going 8-9 in that span.

Happ (9-10) surrendered three runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out five in 6 1/3 innings. Three relievers combined for 2 2/3 hitless innings and Roberto Osuna recorded his 36th save in 46 chances.

Bartolo Colon (6-13) yielded four runs on five hits in six innings. Brian Dozier homered for Minnesota, which remains in the second wild card spot in the American League despite having its three-game winning streak snapped.

Donaldson put Toronto ahead for good in the seventh with a two-out single to score Russell Martin. Colon started the inning and walked Pillar before giving up an RBI double to Martin. Reliever Ryan Pressly entered and gave up a single to put runners on first and third for Donaldson.

Colon was cruising on "Big Sexy Night," as the Twins honored the 44-year-old right-hander. He retired the first eight batters he faced and didn't allow a run until Pillar's 16th homer leading off the fifth inning.

Catcher Chris Gimenez walked to start the third inning and later scored on Joe Mauer's sacrifice fly. Byron Buxton continued to torment Toronto when he bunted for a hit to start the fourth. He stole second and scored on Gimenez's single.

Dozier countered Pillar's homer with his own solo shot, his 31st of the season, in the bottom of the fifth.

Donaldson came right back and hit his own solo homer, his 26th, to lead off the next frame.

NOTES: Minnesota CF Byron Buxton stole his 26th base in the fourth inning. It was the 21st consecutive steal for Buxton without being caught, tied for the third-longest streak in team history with Zoilo Versalles. Buxton is one game behind the record streaks of Matt Lawton and Chuck Knoblauch. ... Toronto OF Jose Bautista is 0 for his last 17 at-bats after going 0-for-5 on Friday. ... Blue Jays INF Darwin Barney was scratched before the game with an illness. OF Steve Pearce missed another game with his back injury. ... The Twins are 27-16 since Aug. 2, a stretch that has propelled them into a wild-card spot. But Minnesota has lost seven games in the AL Central to the Cleveland Indians in that span.