The Toronto Blue Jays returned home to face the Athletics on May 29th, and since then, the club has won seven of their last eight games — this includes sweeping the A’s, taking two of three from the Phillies, and beating the Twins last night by a score of 6-4.

Toronto will look to keep those winning ways going with Kevin Gausman taking the mound this afternoon as the Jays look to at least win the series.

Gausman has put together a solid run since giving up six runs against the Rays back on May 15th, allowing just four earned runs through 19 2/3 innings with just two walks compared to 22 strikeouts. His latest outing against the A’s saw him surrender eight hits through 4 2/3 innings, dragging his pitch count a bit high, but he still limited the damage to just three earned.

The right-hander has a terrible track record against the Twins for his career, allowing 48 earned runs across 65 1/3 innings and 13 starts to the tune of a 6.61 ERA. He will need to find a way to give the Jays some length on the mound after the club used six different arms in yesterday’s bullpen game.

For the Twins, Chris Paddack will be making his 13th start of the season. The former Padres hurler owns a 3.58 ERA on the season and has allowed just 26 runs and 54 hits through 65 1/3 innings while keeping his command under control to a tidy 2.8 BB/9. He uses a four-pitch mix which is dominated by his four-seam fastball, which sits in the mid-90s and currently rates with a +8 run value.

Despite allowing just four earned runs through his last three starts, the Twins have struggled to give him any run support, with the club losing all three contests. In his latest outing against the Mariners, he struck out ten and allowed just four hits through eight innings.

Manager John Schneider has mixed things up today, putting Addison Barger in right field and moving George Springer into the DH spot; Ernie Clement takes over at the hot corner. Nathan Lukes will occupy left field while speedster Jonatan Clase will roam centre field. Tyler Heineman gets the nod behind the plate today.

Location: Target Field – Minneapolis, Minnesota

First Pitch: 2:10 pm EST

Watch/Listen: Sportsnet / Sportsnet 590 The Fan

Toronto Blue Jays – Kevin Guasman: 5-4 record, 3.82 ERA, 70 2/3 IP, 68 SO, 14 BB

Minnesota Twins – Chris Paddack: 2-5 record, 3.58 ERA, 65 1/2 IP, 50 SO, 20 BB