Twins end dismal season in defeat

TORONTO (AP) — Pitching in his home and native land made Scott Diamond feel as though he was making his major league debut all over again.

Diamond did well in his Canadian debut, but Brandon Morrow was even better.

Morrow struck out a season-high 11, Omar Vizquel wrapped up his 24-year career and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Diamond and the Minnesota Twins 2-1 on Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep.

Diamond (12-9) was born in Guelph, Ontario, about 50 miles west of Toronto. He had a group of about 30 family and friends on hand, including his parents, for his first career start in Canada.

“It was like I was coming up for the first time again,” he said of his energy and excitement. “It’s the first time coming home and having a lot of people in the stands. The adrenaline was running a little bit more than normal.”

The rookie left-hander allowed two runs and five hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out three.

Minnesota’s Joe Mauer went 0 for 2 with two walks in his career-high 147th game, dropping his average to .319.

A fifth straight loss meant the Twins finished 66-96, three wins better than last season, but they finished with the AL’s worst record for the second straight year and were last in the division in consecutive years for the first time since 1999-00.

“A disappointing season, everybody knows,” Gardenhire said.

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