TORONTO -- The Twins' 10-8 loss to the Blue Jays on Saturday at Rogers Centre can be told in two distinct chapters.

The first part is a fable of offensive glory, where the Twins lambasted Toronto starter Kevin Gausman, hanging seven runs on the righty in just three innings. There was a flurry of action, from broken-bat singles to screaming homers and scrambles around the bases. Minnesota hung crooked numbers like nobody’s business, rallying for eight runs before the Jays could pick up 12 outs.

Through four innings, the Twins played the brand of baseball that had won them 16 of their last 18 games heading into Saturday. Ryan Jeffers homered to bring his AL-leading OPS up to .988. Max Kepler extended his hit streak to 13 games. Carlos Santana, the wily vet, socked a massive three-run bomb in the third inning, his second home run in as many days. Vibes were good, and the Twins flipped on cruise control after 12 hits through four innings.

“We’ve been playing some great baseball,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “The beginning of that game was tremendous … and then from there, we just couldn’t get outs.”

The second half of this contest tells a more tragic tale. Not only did the Twins’ red-hot offense take a snooze, but the club’s respectable run prevention fell apart in dramatic fashion.

Simeon Woods Richardson, a key haul in the Twins-Jays trade involving José Berríos, was never crisp Saturday, yielding five runs on eight hits, including two home runs.

“I take all that,” said Woods Richardson, shouldering the blame for his club’s inability to maintain the early lead. “It's all me, especially that first half. There's no way that we have that type of a lead, and I don't go out and finish and give my team the best chance to win.”

As harshly as Woods Richardson critiqued his performance, things were cozy when the 23-year-old left the game one out into the fifth inning. The Twins had a five-run lead, a cushion the club’s above-average bullpen has easily handled this season. That relief core is loaded with some of the best leverage arms in baseball. One problem, though: Griffin Jax, the Twins closer, was unavailable, and Jhoan Duran was reserved for the ninth, thus thrusting others into the spotlight. It didn’t go well.

Woods Richardson left a messy situation for Cole Sands, the first of five Twins relievers to pitch. Davis Schneider had already homered, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. stood on first base after one of his four singles on the afternoon. Sure enough, Sands grooved a middle-middle heater, and Danny Jansen smoked a two-run homer.

The traffic jam continued into the seventh when lefty Steven Okert entered to face Daulton Varsho, but walked him. Guerrero then ripped a game-tying single as the Twins reeled to recover. Guerrero was the Twins’ Achilles heel on Saturday, and Baldelli gave the 25-year-old plenty of credit.

“I think he's just feeling like himself again,” Baldelli said of Guerrero. “I know I've seen this version of Vladdy several times over the years. I think he looks very comfortable. I think he's hitting fastballs and off-speed pitches.”

After Okert, Jay Jackson got himself into trouble, leaving Blue Jays baserunners on for Caleb Thielbar, who allowed two of Jackson’s runners to score. In the end, the damage was so deep that even Kepler’s ninth-inning double couldn’t chart a winning course.

From Baldelli’s perspective, these back-and-forth games are very tricky. The skipper explained that once his club’s lead slipped away and the Blue Jays came raging back with a 16-hit effort, it’s difficult to re-ignite energy in the dugout.

“You're on top of the world for an hour, for three or four innings,” Baldelli said. “And then you're just looking for someone to step up and kind of end what [the Blue Jays] were doing. We just couldn't end it today.”

Don’t expect a losing hangover in the Twins clubhouse, though. As Baldelli alluded to, this squad has played some fantastic baseball over the last several weeks. While a letdown or a loss of focus was due at some point, that’s not what the Twins will remember from this up-and-down battle. On Saturday, the Blue Jays lineup played to its full potential, plain and simple. The Twins had great at-bats, too.

It doesn’t always work out. And now it’s on to the next day.

“It’s in the past,” said Santana. “We’re coming back strong to win the [next] game and the series.”