TORONTO -- The streaky Minnesota Twins appear to be back on track.
Matthew LeCroy hit a three-run homer and Michael Cuddyer had a solo shot as Minnesota completed a three-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays with a 9-3 victory Sunday.
The Twins gained a measure of revenge against the Blue Jays, who sent them reeling toward a six-game losing streak with a three-game sweep at the Metrodome last weekend.
"We needed this. Any time you lose six in a row, you need to win. You need to get back on a positive," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We've got a few more guys that need to get going, but we're getting closer as a unit. We're starting to do some things that are fun to watch. You can see it on the bench."
Cristian Guzman went 3-for-4 and scored three times for the Twins, who had 24 runs in the series. They were held to 10 during their six-game slide.
Guzman didn't play Saturday because he broke an unspecified team rule.
"I don't have a doghouse, but Guzzy was in my garage," Gardenhire said. "We got that all squared away. The kid understood and he came back with a good game today. You could see he was fired up."
The Blue Jays have lost four straight following a five-game winning streak.
LeCroy's homer off Doug Linton in the eighth gave Minnesota a 9-3 lead.
Twins starter Joe Mays (2-1) gave up three runs and three hits in six-plus innings. He walked four and struck out two.
"It's a big lift to come in here and beat these guys after they swept us at our dome," Mays said. "We're feeling pretty good about ourselves."
Eric Hinske hit an RBI double in the second and Orlando Hudson added a run-scoring single, giving Toronto a 2-0 lead.
Minnesota took a 3-2 lead in the third against Mark Hendrickson (1-2) on Luis Rivas' RBI grounder, Guzman's RBI double and Corey Koskie's run-scoring single.
After Guzman doubled in the sixth and advanced to third on a grounder, Torii Hunter hit a sacrifice fly.
Cuddyer homered in the sixth to give Minnesota a 5-2 lead.
Hendrickson allowed five runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings. The former NBA player struck out a career-high seven and walked none.
"It's a little bit frustrating because I felt like I had good stuff," Hendrickson said.
Toronto's Chris Woodward hit an RBI single in the seventh, but the Twins scored four in the eighth on Doug Mientkiewicz's RBI single and LeCroy's first homer of the season.
Notes
- The Twins opened the season with a sweep of the Tigers in Detroit, then got swept at home by Toronto and by the Yankees in New York.
- Minnesota catcher Tom Prince stole third in the second inning.
- The Blue Jays begin an 11-game road trip Monday, their longest of the season.
The Associated Press News Service
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