Reigning American League MVP Josh Donaldson padded his case for the 2016 AL MVP Award and helped the Blue Jays overcome the Twins by slugging three home runs in a come-from-behind victory on Sunday afternoon.
Donaldson broke a 1-1 tie in the third inning with a solo home run off of Twins starter Kyle Gibson. He gave the Jays a 6-5 lead in the seventh inning when he drilled a two-run home run to center field off of reliever Pat Light. And he bolstered the Jays’ lead to 9-6 in the ninth with another homer to center field off of Alex Wimmers.
Here’s video of home run number two:
[mlbvideo id="1107335083" width="600" height="336" /]
After Sunday’s performance, Donaldson is hitting .294/.407/.578 with 33 home runs and 91 RBI. In the AL, Donaldson’s 6.9 WAR trails only Angels outfielder Mike Trout (7.2) according to FanGraphs. Jose Altuve, another strong candidate, is at 6.7. Mookie Betts sits at 6.5 and Manny Machado has an even 6.0.