Biggio's blast backs Gausman's 'rally beers'

TORONTO -- Kevin Gausman isn’t one to mess with superstition.

The Blue Jays’ starter was in the training room at Rogers Centre when his offense opened the bottom of the eighth with two consecutive singles as it worked to come back from a two-run deficit. He didn’t want to jinx it, so he continued to do exactly what he was doing.

“I did have a beer, I’ll say that,” Gausman smirked. “Some nervous sips, but yeah, we kept it going, so I had to open another one.”

The rally beers worked, and Gausman had Cavan Biggio to toast afterward, following Biggio's go-ahead three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to complete the Blue Jays’ 7-6 comeback win over the Twins on Sunday afternoon.

Even more than preventing a sweep at home and guaranteeing a winning record in the homestand, Sunday’s win -- in a game in which Toronto trailed by as many as five runs -- gave the offense a chance to come through for Gausman for once.

“He’s been unbelievable the past two years,” said Biggio of Gausman. “It was no surprise he was able to get [4 2/3] innings and give us a chance.”

Gausman has pitched like an ace for most of the season, but he faltered this time, as the Twins continued to pose challenges by laying off the splitter and attacking his fastball. Pair that with a few mistakes with location, and Gausman found himself down 4-0 after the opening frame.

Donovan Solano added a solo homer in the fifth. Three batters and one out later, Gausman’s day was over a lot earlier than he or his team would have wanted.

“It’s just execution,” Gausman said of that first inning. “They kind of jumped on me quick, I tried to salvage it, but Solano got to me there in the fifth. A lot of pitches, a lot of walks, too many 3-2 counts. Obviously, not very sharp.”

This isn’t anything new, either. One year ago almost to the day, Minnesota walked into Rogers Centre with a similar game plan, knocking the Blue Jays’ starter out of that game after just 3 2/3 innings. Gausman went a bit further this time, ending his outing one additional inning, but the stat line was equally unflattering.

Gausman allowed six earned runs on seven hits and four walks, striking out four batters on Sunday.

“The Twins, for whatever reason … yeah, [they] drive me crazy,” said Gausman. “For whatever reason, my whole career has been a grind against them. I’ve had some good starts, but yeah.”

It’d been a long time coming, but the Blue Jays’ offense at last picked up its starter.

Toronto has scored just three runs or fewer in seven of Gausman’s 14 starts this season, but his stellar numbers have allowed the club to win more often than not -- even with that lack of support.

“For whatever reason, it seems like runs are hard to come by when he’s on the mound,” said manager John Schneider. “Credit to the guy's character. The conversations in the dugout from the first inning on, they never gave up. It was a winnable game the whole way through.”

After getting one back in the bottom of the first, Toronto opened the home half of the fifth trailing 6-1. Biggio singled and George Springer walked before Twins righty Louie Varland got a pair of outs and it looked like the Blue Jays’ woes with runners in scoring position would continue.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s RBI forceout (aided by Carlos Correa's throwing error) extended the frame for Matt Chapman, though, who stepped up and launched a hanging slider to left field for a two-run blast that brought the Blue Jays to within two.

Alejandro Kirk and Santiago Espinal opened the bottom of the eighth with two consecutive singles and Gausman made sure his can was full. Biggio took care of the rest.

“It's hard to put that into words,” Biggio said when he was asked to describe the feeling of hitting the game-winning homer.

But he didn’t really have to say anything -- the bat flip did that for him. Biggio, who knew right away he’d gotten all of an Emilio Pagán fastball, watched the ball fly a Statcast-projected 423 feet while he carried his bat with him on his way to first base. He didn’t drop it until he was halfway there, and he made sure to do it with some flair.

“To tell you the truth, I don't really remember exactly what was going through my head,” Biggio said. “Sometimes when I do hit the ball hard, I grab it by the barrel, carry it and kind of drop it.

“I guess I carried it a little bit further this time.”