As a wise man once said: it's hard to scatter 19 hits.
The Blue Jays came out swinging Monday night against the Twins, and when the dust cleared and the scraps of horsehide had settled, Toronto had pounded out three doubles, three home runs, and an astonishing 13 singles, running up enough runs to come from behind to beat the Twins.
Jays left fielder Travis Snider hit a pair of home runs, the second off of Luis Ayala in the eighth inning to give Toronto an 8-6 lead. Ayala was the least effective of a parade of Twins relievers, allowing his only inherited runner to score to blow the lead, then allowing three more hits and two more runs to take the loss.
Kevin Slowey, on the other hand, was simply shelled over a longer period of time. The starter gave up 13 hits in five and a third, ten of them singles, and though he managed to escape jam after jam, the Jays eventually touched him for five runs.
Despite the failures of the pitching staff, though, the Twins were in position to win for much of the night. Jason Kubel's solo home run and Nick Punto's two-run single in the second inning put the Twins up 3-1. In the fourth, Brian Buscher tripled in a run, and the Twins manufactured two in the fifth with the help of a Justin Morneau double, and it was 6-3 Minnesota.
But Slowey, and then the already-beleagured bullpen, simply couldn't keep the Jays from slapping the ball all over the lot.
After the jump, the three Twins stars of the game...
3. RA Dickey
The reliever got the last four outs for the Twins with a minimum of fuss, allowing one hit and striking out one to keep Minnesota within striking distance.
2. Nick Punto
Struck out twice later in the game, but his two-run, two-out single in the second was clutch enough to make up for it.
1. Justin Morneau
His double in the fifth should have driven home Denard Span, who was on second base but dithered and ended up only making it as far as third. And the first baseman made a heady play in the second, picking off a Toronto runner at third after a putout at first base, helping to kill a Blue Jays rally.