Toronto Blue Jays vs Minnesota Twins: Series preview - Pitching Matchups
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The Toronto Blue Jays take on the Minnesota Twins in the first matchup of a three game weekend set tonight at Target Field. First pitch is at 8:10 PM ET.
Minnesota has a 34-28 record overall and an 18-8 record in home games. The Twins have a 24-7 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.
Toronto has an 11-16 record in road games and a 33-29 record overall. The Blue Jays have a 20-2 record in games when they scored five or more runs.
The matchup Friday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.
Tonight's pitching matchup will start with Blue Jays rookie Paxton Schultz. Eric Lauer is expected to be the long man versus Twins starter Bailey Ober.
In his last outing Ober allowed two runs on six hits and a walk while striking out four over four innings in a no-decision versus the Mariners.
Ober gave up a two-run home run to Cal Raleigh in the third inning to account for the damage on his line.
Beyond that, it was simple inefficiency that led to Ober's short start, as he threw 64 of 97 pitches for strikes.
That's been a recurring theme during his stretch of five straight no-decisions -- he's completed five innings in just two of those starts.
However, he hasn't allowed more than three runs since his season debut. Overall, he has a 3.48 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 50:14 K:BB through 62 innings over 12 starts.
Saturday's pitching matchup will see Kevin Gausman versus Chris Paddack.
In his last outing Kevin Gausman did not factor in the decision during a win over the Athletics.
He allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out seven over 4.2 innings.
Gausman gave up one run through four innings before Luis Urias' two-run double in the fifth knocked him out of the contest.
It was just the second time in 12 starts that Gausman failed to complete five frames.
He'd given up one run over 15 frames in his previous two starts before Sunday. Gausman threw 60 of 96 pitches for strikes and generated 13 whiffs, including 10 with the splitter. He's registered a 3.82 ERA alongside a 68:14 K:BB through 70.2 innings.
In his last outing Chris Paddack didn't factor into the decision against Seattle, allowing one run on four hits and one walk over eight innings. He struck out 10.
Paddack threw 110 pitches Sunday, and despite notching his fifth career start with double-digit strikeouts and allowing merely one run, he didn't receive enough run support to land the win.
Paddack blanked the Mariners until the seventh inning when Cal Raleigh clubbed a solo home run. In his last five starts, Paddack has a 1.64 ERA and a 26:4 K:BB over 33 innings.
The series finale pitching matchup will see Bowden Francis versus Joe Ryan
In his last outing Bowden Francis (2-7) took the loss against the Phillies, allowing seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out two in 1.2 innings.
The Phillies plated six runs in the first against Francis, which included back-to-back home runs from Trea Turner and Bryce Harper among the six hits they had in the inning.
Francis has given up 17 home runs, the most in baseball. He's allowed seven hits or more in four starts and has allowed multiple homers five times.
In his last outing Joe Ryan (6-2) earned the win over the Athletics, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks while striking out four batters over five innings.
Ryan was provided with a 6-0 lead through two innings, but he nearly gave it all back when the A's scored four runs over the third and fourth frames.
The big blow was a three-run homer by Lawrence Butler that was just the second long ball Ryan has given up over his past four outings.
Ryan ran into trouble again in the fifth, loading the bases with no outs, but he was able to induce two popouts and a groundout to prevent any runs and end his start on a positive note.
Though the right-hander gave up four runs for the first time since yielding six against Atlanta on April 20, he got enough support to pick up his fifth win across his past seven appearances.
Ryan has been excellent in that stretch, posting a 2.20 ERA and 0.85 WHIP with a 48:9 K:BB over 41 frames.
LAST 10 GAMES:
Twins: 5-5, .250 batting average, 4.90 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs
Blue Jays: 8-2, .293 batting average, 2.93 ERA, outscored opponents by 26 runs
INJURIES:
Twins: Pablo Lopez: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Carlos Correa: day-to-day (back), Luke Keaschall: 60-Day IL (forearm), Danny Coulombe: 15-Day IL (forearm), Michael Tonkin: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Blue Jays: Daulton Varsho: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Anthony Santander: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Yimi Garcia: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Max Scherzer: 60-Day IL (thumb), Ryan Burr: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nick Sandlin: 15-Day IL (back), Alek Manoah: 60-Day IL (elbow), Angel Bastardo: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Can the Blue Jays win their third series in a row against the Twins?
Tell us what you think in the poll below.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 6 | 112 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays vs Minnesota Twins: Series preview - Pitching Matchups Can the Blue Jays win their third series in a row against the Twins? | ||
| Yes | 86 | 76.8 % |
| No | 18 | 16.1 % |
| Too early to tell | 8 | 7.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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