TORONTO _ When the Astros pulled into Target Field on April 22, it sure looked like the Twins were beginning of a 10-game baseball exam.
Houston won the 2017 World Series and is hunting for another title. Three games in New York against the Yankees were next, and the Yankees are the Yankees. Then three games at Toronto, which took three or four from the Twins at Target Field last month.
On Wednesday, the Twins cleaned house with the Blue Jays, easing to a 9-1 to complete a series sweep. Despite dropping two of three at New York, the Twins headed home following a 7-3 jaunt through this 10-game stretch.
It's a stretch that has given them a 23-12 record that is the best in Major League Baseball, following Tampa Bay's extra-inning loss to Arizona.
Wednesday's game was an emphatic exclamation point on the current state of the Twins. They slugged four more home runs _ giving them eight for the series. Kyle Gibson no-hit Toronto for four innings. The defense was flawless. Jorge Polanco was on every fat pitch.
Each game followed a similar script. The Twins grabbed an early lead to subdue the crowd then added on. They are 18-4 when scoring first, so it's a proven formula.
The Twins outscored the Blue Jays 20-1 in the three games, and swept an opponent in a three game series for the third time this season. They head home for four games against Detroit in three days _ there's a doubleheader on Saturday _ as the club tries to pounce on the renewed interest in the club by selling discounted tickets.
They also are 11 games over .500 for the first time since 2015. On Thursday, they will spend their 31st day in first place in the American League Central division.
The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly by Eddie Rosario, then went to town on Toronto rookie right-hander Trent Thornton. Polanco hit a 3-2 pitch for a two-run homer in the second, then C.J. Cron hit a two-run opposite field shot in the third to run Thornton from the game. Thornton's replacement, Sam Gaviglio, gave up a two-run blast to Jonathan Schoop as the Twins took a 7-0 lead in the third inning to totally deflate the Rogers Centre crowd.
Polanco went 5-for-5 _ all of his hits obtained in the first seven innings _ with two RBI as he lifted his average to .344. It's the second time Polanco has had five hits in a game, the other coming April 5 in Philadelphia.
That achievement puts Polanco in rare company. He's just the fifth Twin to have multiple 5-hit games in the same season, joining Joe Mauer (2010), Denard Span (2009), Kirby Puckett (1990) and Tony Oliva (1965).
Gibson struck out five Blue Jay hitters his first time through the order and had eight strikeouts through four innings. He tied a career high with his 10th strikeout in the fifth.
When Randal Grichuk went down swinging to end the sixth, Gibson had his career high 11th strikeout. He was replaced after the sixth inning, having thrown 88 pitches, for Ryan Harper. In six innings, Gibson gave up one run on just two hits and a walk and 11 strikeouts. Billy McKinney's home run in the fifth inning off Gibson ended the Twins 25-innings scoreless streak in the series.
Twins starters have a 1.41 ERA this month. The Twins offense is averaging 5.6 runs a game this month. And they head home after playing some of their best baseball of the season.
