Another day, another one given away by Twins

Frank Gunn, Associated Press - Ap

Glen Perkins gave up consecutive homers

The Twins pitching staff blew a lead for the fourth time during their 14-game road trip, while the bats went silent against the outstanding Blue Jays bullpen.

By LA VELLE E. NEAL III, Star Tribune

Last update: September 3, 2008 - 9:13 AM

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TORONTO — Scoreboard watching in September goes to another level if you’re a contender.

And Twins first baseman Justin Morneau was right there with everyone else Tuesday as he glanced at the Rogers Centre scoreboard, noticed the White Sox were losing to Cleveland and wanted to seize the opportunity.

But his pitchers were run over most of the night. The offense was stiff-armed by the best bullpen in the majors. And the Twins left the park after a 7-5 loss lamenting their latest blown lead and latest missed opportunity.

“Especially when you see Chicago losing and can be in first place all by yourself,” said Morneau, who was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

The Twins remain tied with the White Sox for the AL Central lead with 24 games to play, thanks to Chicago’s 9-3 loss at Cleveland.

The Twins are 5-7 on their 14-game road trip, with four of those losses coming in games in which they have led 3-0, 2-1, 2-0 and 5-1. It will be games like those the Twins will think about in October if they are on fishing and hunting trips instead of in the playoffs.

“We can’t let [Tuesday] affect us [today],” said rookie outfielder Denard Span, who was 1-for-5 with an RBI. “We’ve had some tough losses on this road trip. Each day, we come back with a good attitude and that’s all you can do.

“We still have time but we don’t have time, if that makes any sense.”

Oh, there’s plenty of time — as long as they don’t give up 17 hits like they did on Tuesday and figure out ways to sustain their offense.

Twins lefthander Glen Perkins had a 5-1 lead in the fifth when Toronto got back-to-back homers by Jose Bautista and Alex Rios to close within 5-4. Perkins struggled up until that point; the homers were just confirmation.

“The couple pitches they hit weren’t close to the worst pitches I threw all night,” said Perkins, who gave up four runs on 10 hits and a walk in five innings. “It was one of those nights where I didn’t have anything really and tried to overcompensate and left the ball up.

“It was a disappointing night. Having a 5-1 lead. That’s a game we should win. It started with me giving up three runs in the fifth inning. That’s a tough spot to put the bullpen in.”

Lyle Overbay socked a two-run homer on a belt-high fastball from Boof Bonser (3-7) in the sixth to give the Blue Jays a 6-5 lead, and they went on to beat the Twins for the seventh consecutive meeting.

Comebacks are hard against Toronto. After the Twins took a 5-1 lead against rookie lefthander David Purcey, Blue Jays relievers threw six shutout innings. Their bullpen entered the game with a major league-leading 2.90 ERA and are filled with strike-throwing arms. Lefthander Brian Tallet needed only 17 pitches over the fourth and fifth innings. Lefthander Jesse Carlson needed only 16 to get through the sixth and seventh.

The Twins were left, once again, in a position to prove how resilient they are.

“You’re still in first place at the end of the day,” Morneau said. “You look for a positive in everything.”

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