MLB: Minnesota 4, Toronto 3

TORONTO, April 3 (UPI) -- Denard Span belted a solo home run in the ninth inning and Joe Nathan recorded his first save since 2009 Sunday in Minnesota's 4-3 win over Toronto.

Span's shot gave the Twins a 4-2 lead, which they needed in the bottom of the inning when Nathan made his first appearance as the Twins' closer since undergoing arm surgery in March 2010.

Nathan allowed a single to Travis Snider and a one-out double to Mike McCoy before Yunel Escobar drove Snider in with a sacrifice fly. Nathan then issued walks to Juan Rivera and Jose Bautista before finally notching the save by inducing Adam Lind to ground out to end the game.

Nick Blackburn (1-0) started and earned the win for Minnesota, allowing only one earned run on six hits over 5 2/3 innings as the Twins posted their first win after two losses to start the season.

Brett Cecil (0-1) absorbed the loss for the Blue Jays, allowing three runs and six hits in five frames.