Teoscar earns the best kind of redemption

MINNEAPOLIS -- Teoscar Hernández made a massive blunder on the basepaths and then found redemption in the best way possible: With a no-doubter to left.

Hernandez made a costly baserunning mistake during the sixth inning, then two frames later hit a three-run homer in the Blue Jays’ 5-3 victory over the Twins on Monday night at Target Field. Right-hander Matt Shoemaker tossed six quality innings, but he came up short in his quest to become the first pitcher in franchise history to win each of his first four starts.

Toronto claimed its third come-from-behind victory of the season, and Hernandez was the main reason why. He went from scapegoat to savior in a matter of minutes, and in the end, he proved that natural raw power trumps almost everything else. At least for one night, one swing was all it took to ensure that.

“I think you forget about things like that when you do things good for the team,” Hernandez said. “Obviously things happen in the game. Errors that you make mentally. … It was a bad moment, I wasn’t focused enough. But for a player who has this much time playing baseball, that can’t happen again.”

Hernandez not only bailed out a struggling Blue Jays lineup, he bailed himself out after a bizarre play at first base during the top of the sixth. It all started with one out when he singled on a line drive to left field. Third baseman Brandon Drury then stepped in the box and worked the count to 2-2. That’s when things got weird.

Drury took a pitch that was called a ball by home-plate umpire Mike Estabrook. It was only ball three, but Drury thought it was ball four. He took off his elbow guard and started walking toward first base. Hernandez initially had a slight lead off first and then took a couple more steps toward second when Drury started jogging in his direction.

Minnesota quickly took advantage as starter Martin Perez tossed the ball to first base. Hernandez was tagged on his way back to the bag, and the second out of the inning was called. The play was so bizarre that the official scorer had to call the Elias Sports Bureau to figure out how it should be scored. In reality, both Hernandez and Drury shared the blame, but Hernandez was charged with a caught stealing.

“I was surprised,” Perez said. “I saw the count and when I saw [Drury] walk to first, [Willians] Astudillo told me, ‘Hey, throw to first and we get the out.’ ... Astudillo did a great job in telling me to throw to first. I was confused at that time, but we had a chance to get out of the inning quick."

The strange play looked like it would be the biggest takeaway from Toronto’s first game in Minnesota. First-year manager Charlie Montoyo was livid and let his players hear all about it once they returned to the dugout. The negative turned positive not too long after that when Freddy Galvis, Randal Grichuk and Justin Smoak opened the eighth inning with consecutive hits.

Hernandez followed with the three-run shot to left, which left his bat at 109.7 mph.

Shoemaker tossed yet another quality start, but one mistake -- a three-run homer he allowed to C.J. Cron in the fourth -- was all it took to cost him a shot at win No. 4. The 32-year-old allowed three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out four. He reached the 100-pitch plateau for the first time since June 3, 2017, and he has surrendered three earned runs or fewer in all four starts for the Blue Jays this season. All but one of those starts included at least six innings, and his ERA now sits at 1.75.

Instead of owning sole possession of a franchise record, Shoemaker will have to settle for a share of it. Jerry Garvin (1977), Dennis Lamp ('84), Mauro Gozzo ('89), Roger Clemens ('97) and Chris Michalak (2001) are the only other pitchers to win each of their first four starts for Toronto. So far, Shoemaker is proving to be a bargain after signing a one-year deal worth $3.5 million during the offseason.

Overall, it was a positive ending for the Blue Jays on a night when they weren’t expecting it.

“They both have to be in the game,” Montoyo said when asked whether Drury or Hernandez was to blame for the botched play. “The hitter and the guy at first. There’s no excuses for that, we’re not going to make excuses. That was bad baserunning there. But he let it go, which is great, and then he hit the ball out. It’s funny how this game works.”