Gray, Clemens both homer to power Minnesota Twins to 8-2 win over Toronto Blue Jays

By: Tim Wharnsby, The Canadian Press Posted: 3:48 PM CDT Sunday, Apr. 12, 2026

TORONTO - Tristan Gray belted a three-run homer and Kody Clemens added a solo shot to spark the Minnesota Twins to an 8-2 win in the rubber match of their series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

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TORONTO – Tristan Gray belted a three-run homer and Kody Clemens added a solo shot to spark the Minnesota Twins to an 8-2 win in the rubber match of their series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

Gray’s 396-foot blast came in the second inning. Clemens led off the third with a 417-foot monster, the first of a five-run inning as the Twins (9-7) sent 10 batters to the plate and won for the sixth time in seven outings before 37,804 at Rogers Centre.

Both right-field bombs were off Toronto starter Max Scherzer (1-2) as the Blue Jays (6-9) won just twice in their six-game homestand.

Minnesota Twins pitcher Taj Bradley (26) throws against the Toronto Blue Jays during first inning American League MLB baseball action in Toronto on Sunday, April 12, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

Scherzer departed after 68 pitches with the Twins ahead 6-1 with two on and one out in the third. He was responsible for eight runs on five hits with two walks, a hit batter and three strikeouts.

Left-hander Joe Mantiply replaced Scherzer, yielding a two-run double from Brooks Lee.

Twins starter Taj Bradley (3-0) managed five innings. In his 106-pitch effort, Bradley surrendered a run on five hits with four walks and seven strikeouts.

Andrew Morris, 24, made his major-league debut in relief of Bradley. Morris went three innings, giving up a one-out seventh-inning sacrifice fly to Jesus Sanchez that scored Ernie Clement.

Takeaways

Blue Jays: Daulton Varsho knocked in Clement in the first. With two singles and a double, he went an impressive 8-for-23 with three walks and five RBIs in the homestand.

Twins: Dating back to August 2017, they have homered in 26 straight games, 55 homers in total, at Rogers Centre.

Key moment

With Varsho on second and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on first with one out in the third, Bradley snuffed out a potential Toronto rally by striking out Sanchez and getting Kazuma Okamoto to fly out to centre.

Key stat

After sweeping their season-opening series against the Oakland Athletics, the Blue Jays have lost their last four series. Toronto was 8-7 after the 15-game mark in 2025.

Up next

Twins: Begin three-game series at home against the Boston Red Sox on Monday.

Blue Jays: Have a day off before beginning a three-game series in Milwaukee on Tuesday. Toronto’s Kevin Gausman (0-1) is slated to start the series opener.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Apr. 12, 2026.