Max Scherzer delivers as Blue Jays clean up vs. Twins

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With 30 games remaining in what has the potential to be a magical season for the Blue Jays, there is still business to be taken care of.

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On a cool summer night that had a late-season feel, before yet another sellout Rogers Centre crowd of 41,845, the Jays went to work in that direction.

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With Max Scherzer setting the tone from the mound, in the early going anyway, the Jays cruised to a 10-4 win over the Minnesota Twins to open up a six-game home stand.

When you enter the night with a five-game lead in the division, there’s not a ton to worry about.

But for manager John Schneider, a so-so stretch of 13-13 through their previous 26 at least prompted a call for some improvement over the final five weeks of the regular season.

“There’s definitely areas we can we can tighten up and sharpen up,” Schneider said prior to the Jays’ 43rd home win of the season. “Whether it’s bullpen, whether it’s getting certain guys going (offensively), I think getting back to playing a little bit better defence, all things that have kind of gotten us in this in this position and understanding where we are in the season, understanding that the physical toll for guys.”

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Consider some of those cleaned up after a drubbing of the Twins and their strong righty starter, Joe Ryan, which improved the Jays’ record to 77-55.

Some takeaways from another electric night at the downtown dome, which has now hosted sellout crowds for 17 consecutive games:

MAD MAX MARVELS

Scherzer, whose intensity resonates throughout the Jays clubhouse, was on yet again, mowing down Twins hitters through five innings, the only blemish a solo homer to Minnesota right fielder Matt Wallner.

The lefty hitter got Scherzer again in the sixth, belting a two-run shot to right field to pull the Twins within a pair.

The competitor in Scherzer won’t be pleased with that last one, but the veteran righty was money in the dominant first five innings in which he allowed just two hits.

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It was a sixth consecutive solid outing for the 41-year-old, who in his 12th start of the season once again showed his top of the rotation brilliance. Over his seven starts prior to Monday, Scherzer had posted a tidy ERA of 3.14.

BOUNCE-BACK BOYS

After Scherzer’s blip in the top of the inning, the Jays offence had his back in a big way in the bottom half of the sixth.

Nathan Lukes ripped a bases-loaded, two-out double to get get two of those runs back, and designated hitter Vlad Guerrero Jr., — back in the lineup after missing six games with a hamstring strain — followed with a single that drove in two more.

The four-run inning — to match the Jays’ output from the first inning — was another get-back-to-business bit of work for the Jays as they outscored the Twins 4-3 in the frame to snuff any hope of a comeback.

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It’s that kind of aggression Schneider would like to see more of down the stretch, especially against a pitcher such as Ryan, who entered Monday’s contest with a 12-6 record and a 2.96 ERA.

“Staying on the gas,” is how Jays outfielder Myles Straw described it. “Just keep doing what we’re doing and what got us here. Not trying to do too much. That’s what this team does a really good job of.”

AROUND THE BASES

On his bobblehead night, Jays second baseman Andres Gimenez added some offence to go with his stellar work in the field. After homering in the second, Gimenez had a single and stolen base, leading to a run scored in the fourth and then walked and scored another run in the sixth … The Jays wasted little time taking it to the Twins with a four-run first highlighted by a Bo Bichette RBI double and a two-run homer from Alejandro Kirk, his 11th of the season … The Jays are now 30-9 in their previous 39 home contests … Schneider on goals the rest of the way: “We really try to focus on winning series. That’s all we’ve talked about his year. We’ve done that and put ourselves in a good position.” … With the win, the Jays now lead the season series with the Twins by a 3-1 count.

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