The Bombers enjoyed a day off on Thursday, before kicking off a set with the Orioles at home this weekend. With an early slate of games taking up much of Thursday, there wasn’t much positive movement for the American League’s top teams. Between a split double header, grand slams and a tough Jays loss to the Twins, let’s take a look at what happened on Thursday.
Minnesota Twins (13-19) 7, Toronto Blue Jays (14-17) 1
After two much-needed wins against the Red Sox, the Blue Jays dropped a dud against the Twins
on Thursday. Despite an early lead and a strong start to the game for Toronto, the middling Minnesota squad took control of this game in the second half.
Kevin Gausman was on the hill for the Jays, who has had a terrific start to the 2026 season. He looked good to begin his outing, as the veteran righty fired three scoreless innings out of the gate, though it was matched by Bailey Ober for the Twins. Toronto broke out first with the bats, when Daulton Varsho belted his fourth homer of the season in the fourth inning, a solo shot to open the scoring.
The lead was short-lived, however, as Ryan Jeffers tagged Gausman with a two-run blast in the following half inning, which turned Minnesota’s deficit into a lead with one swing of the bat.
Two innings later, the Twins tacked on two more runs, fueled in part by Byron Buxton’s eighth home run of the season. In the eighth, they added some additional insurance thanks to RBIs from Josh Bell and Luke Keaschall against the Toronto ‘pen. With a six-run lead in tow, the Twins were able to cruise to victory in the series opener, as the Jays fall to fourth in the AL East, two games ahead of the Red Sox, who had the day off on Thursday.
Other Games
Detroit Tigers (16-16) 5, Atlanta Braves (22-10) 2: Despite a shaky start in the outing, Framber Valdez turned in a good start for the Tigers. Two early runs were the only marks on his day, as he finished striking out eight across his six solid innings of work. Detroit overcame a 2-0 deficit thanks in part to four runs in their final two innings, with doubles from Matt Vierling and Dillon Dingler leading the charge for the rally.
Baltimore Orioles (15-15) 10, Houston Astros (11-20) 3 (Game 1): The Orioles hosted the Astros for a back-to-back double header on Thursday, making up a rain out from Wednesday. In the first, The Orioles took command in the middle innings, and never trailed on their way to a win. A pair of grand slams usually does the trick, and the O’s got just that from Adley Rutschman in the fifth and Jeremiah Jackson in the seventh. Chris Bassitt also turned in a very good start, tossing 6.2 innings of one-run ball, striking out seven.
Houston Astros (12-20) 11, Baltimore Orioles (15-16) 5 (Game 2): The Astros flipped the script in the second game, jumping out to an early lead and putting up a double-digit run total of their own. After five runs in the first, Yordan Alvarez padded Houston’s lead in the second with his 12th home run of the season. Lance McCullers Jr. struck out nine in his six frames for the ‘Stros.
