Lesser-known players carried the Minnesota Twins to a 9-7 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon.
Matt Wallner went 4-for-4 with a homer, Willi Castro slugged a pair of homers and had three hits, and Edouard Julien homered and doubled twice to fuel the 14-hit, nine-run attack.
And all of it was needed because struggling Twins reliever Jorge Lopez allowed three runs in the ninth inning before Brock Stewart replaced him and stranded the tying run on first base to end the game.
The game was tied 4-4 before Castro and Wallner hit back-to-back homers in the fifth to put the Twins up 7-4. Castro homered again in the seventh to make it 8-4 and then Julien went deep in the eighth for a 9-4 cushion.
LET'S GOOO WILLI CASTRO!! đź’Ł@Twins || #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/Ib8A4sUJew
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) May 27, 2023
Matt Wallner is in his bag đź‘ś#MNTwins x #NextLevel pic.twitter.com/nt5p3Vs5NA
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) May 27, 2023
Lopez entered the game to the start and the ninth and allowed a single and a two-run homer before hitting a batter and giving up another single. The right-hander has had three consecutive rough appearances that have resulted in his ERA rising from 1.31 to 3.68.
Carlos Correa, dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, did not play. Manager Rocco Baldelli said he hopes Correa is able to play Sunday.
Up next: Twins vs. Blue Jays, Sunday at 1:10 p.m. Bailey Ober will start for the Twins against former Minnesota right-hander Jose Berrios.
