TORONTO – Before Toronto Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer took the mound on Sunday Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton called him “a magician” and a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.

The Twins didn’t let him saw their lineup in half. There were no rabbits in any hats or other tricks. Instead, they handed him one of the worst starts in his storied 19-year career.

Tristan Gray bashed a three-run homer in the second inning. Kody Clemens hit a leadoff homer in the third and the next four batters all reached base as the Twins steamrolled Scherzer and the Blue Jays on their way to an 8-2 victory at Rogers Centre.

The Twins have won six of their past seven games, taking two of three games from the injury-ravaged defending American League pennant winners.

Scherzer gave up eight runs in 2 1/3 innings, his highest total in a game since he gave up 10 runs to the Kansas City Royals on June 17, 2014. That was so long ago, the 30-year-old Gray had just graduated from high school in Missouri City, Texas.

Twins right-hander Taj Bradley, who was in the eighth grade the last time a team put up eight earned runs on Scherzer, yielded one run in five innings, and the Twins improved to a 4-0 record in his starts this season.

After Scherzer pitched through a 12-pitch clean first inning, the Twins offense concocted a second-inning rally that started with a walk and a hit batter. Two batters later, Gray drove an inside cutter to the right-field seats for a three-run home run. Gray, the last position player to make the Twins Opening Day roster, has tallied 11 RBI in eight games.

The Twins have homered in 26 consecutive games at Rogers Centre, a streak that dates to Aug. 26, 2017. It’s tied for the second-longest homer streak by any team in a single ballpark, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers homering in 33 consecutive games at Dodger Stadium (Aug. 21, 2018-April 26, 2019), according to Elias Sports Bureau.

The Twins could do no wrong against Scherzer (1-2) in the third inning. Clemens connected on a low slider for his second homer of the season. They loaded the bases after two more singles and a walk. Matt Wallner lined an RBI single to right field and Victor Caratini followed with a sacrifice fly.

Lefty reliever Joe Maniply replaced Scherzer and plunked Gray with his second pitch. Brooks Lee, who homered the last two days as a right-handed hitter against a lefty, shot a two-run double down the left-field line.

The Twins have scored at least seven runs in four of their past seven games.

Bradley (3-0) wasn’t sharp, but he did just enough to remain effective. He had trouble commanding his pitches, throwing 106 pitches to complete five innings. Toronto took a 1-0 lead two batters into the bottom of the first inning after Ernie Clement hit a leadoff double and Daulton Varsho followed with an RBI single to right field.

“We need to get out of town because [Varsho] can really hit,” Shelton said before a game in which Varsho, who homered in the previous two games, produced three more hits.

The first inning nearly snowballed further on Bradley, who issued a nine-pitch walk to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. after giving up his first run. But he induced a double play against clean-up batter Jesús Sánchez, and that helped him settle down.

Bradley, who gave up five hits and four walks, stranded two runners in the third and fourth innings, and he pitched around a leadoff double in the fifth.

Through four starts, Bradley owns a 1.25 ERA with 29 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings.

Andrew Morris came out of the bullpen in the sixth inning for his major league debut, and he struck out two of his first four batters. The Class AAA starter yielded five hits and one run over three innings.

The Twins will play host to the Boston Red Sox for a three-game series at Target Field, beginning Monday.

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