Blue Jays Face Twins in Key AL East Showdown

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — The Toronto Blue Jays, winners of eight of their last ten games, face the Minnesota Twins at Target Field starting Friday. The Twins return home after a challenging 10-game road trip.

The three-game series opens Friday evening at 7:10 p.m. with left-handed pitcher Eric Lauer (1-1, 2.28 ERA) starting for Toronto against Minnesota’s right-hander Bailey Ober (4-1, 3.48). Saturday’s game will feature Toronto’s Kevin Gausman (5-4, 3.82) facing Chris Paddack (2-5, 3.58), while Sunday’s matchup has Bowden Francis (2-7, 5.84) going against Joe Ryan (6-2, 2.91).

The Blue Jays, currently 33-29, sit in second place in the American League East and recently finished a successful homestand with a 9-1 win over Philadelphia. Notably, 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s career-high on-base streak of 34 games ended Thursday when he went 0-for-5, bringing his season stats to .273 with eight home runs and 28 RBIs. Catcher Alejandro Kirk is having a standout season, hitting .305 after a strong May, where he achieved a .365 average.

Meanwhile, the Twins (34-28) return to Minneapolis having gone 5-5 during their recent road trip. They have an impressive 18-8 home record this season. However, after winning the first three games against the Athletics, they suffered a heavy loss in their series finale, dropping 14-3.

The Twins have battled injuries, as RHP Pablo López was placed on the injured list with a right teres major strain, expected to miss eight to 12 weeks. SS Carlos Correa, who has been dealing with back tightness, is expected to return to the lineup Friday.

This series marks an important opportunity for both teams as they compete within the tightly contested AL East.