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Sports

Wells drives in go-ahead run as Jays top Twins 6-5

Associated Press
Published | Updated

TORONTO (AP) — Vernon Wells drove in the go-ahead run with a seventh-inning double, Jose Bautista hit an inside-the-park homer, his major league-leading 22nd, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Minnesota Twins 6-5 Wednesday night.

Wells snapped an 0-for-21 slump with a two-out double off Matt Guerrier (1-5), giving the Blue Jays just their second win in 10 games.

Alex Gonzalez hit his 16th homer for the Blue Jays, who lead the majors with 125.

Scott Downs (3-5) worked 1 1-3 innings for the win and Kevin Gregg wrapped it up in the ninth for his 19th save.

Minnesota's Orlando Hudson went 3 for 4 with three RBIs against his former team, including a two-run homer, and Delmon Young also went deep, but it wasn't enough.

Twins slugger Justin Morneau was accidentally kneed in the head by second baseman John McDonald as he tried to break up a double play in the eighth. He walked off the field without assistance but did not return.

Gonzalez opened the scoring with a one-out homer in the first, but the Twins answered in the fourth when Hudson hit a two-run shot to left, his fourth. Toronto tied it in the bottom half on a two-out single by Edwin Encarnacion.

Young made it 3-2 when he drilled a solo homer to left in the top of the fifth, his 10th, but Toronto reclaimed the lead in the bottom half. With McDonald at first base, Bautista lined a two-out pitch into the alley in left-center. The ball fell between Young and Denard Span, with Span's leg crashing into Young's gloved left hand as he leapt over his sliding teammate. Young stayed down as the ball rolled to the wall and Bautista sped around the bases, crossing the plate standing up and well ahead of the relay throw.

Pitcher Ricky Romero fanned a smiling Bautista with a towel when he returned to the bench, and the crowd of 14,886 kept cheering until Bautista came out for a curtain call.

It was Toronto's first inside-the-park homer since Greg Myers did it against Baltimore on Sept. 13, 2003. The Twins have now surrendered two inside-the-park homers this season, with Kansas City's David DeJesus doing it in an April 23 game at Target Field.

Toronto's advantage was short-lived. The Twins tied it on Jason Kubel's sacrifice fly in the sixth, then took the lead on a two-out hit by Hudson in the seventh.

The Blue Jays took the lead for good in the bottom half. Fred Lewis chased Kevin Slowey with a triple to right-center and scored when Gonzalez followed with a sacrifice fly off Matt Guerrier. Bautista walked and Wells followed with an RBI double, his first hit since June 29 at Cleveland.

Slowey allowed five runs and nine hits in 6 1-3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.

Making his first start of the season, Blue Jays left-hander Marc Rzepczynski allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings. He walked one and struck out seven.

NOTES: McDonald started at 2B in place of Aaron Hill, who missed his second straight start because of flulike symptoms. ... The roof at Rogers Centre was forced to stay closed because of "mechanical difficulty." ... Toronto Raptors head coach Jay Triano threw out the first pitch and attended the game with several players, including DeMar DeRozan and Amir Johnson.