The Toronto Blue Jays kick off their annual Pride weekend celebrations Friday night opening up a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins.

The Jays have been on a roll as of late kicking off a great streak, ironically enough, against the Twins in late May. Since they opened the series in Minnesota on May 26th, the Jays have gone 10-3 outscoring their opposition 51-38.
It&#8217;s seen the Jays win each of the four series&#8217; they played taking out the Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets and Houston Astros. Two of those three losses came in Alek Manoah starts, while the other saw Bassitt take a loss in the Jays&#8217; second game against Minny.
Tonight, the Yusei Kikuchi Revenge Tour continues as the Jays look to keep this momentum going as the Twins counter with a right-handed heavy lineup.
Kikuchi has struggled the last two seasons in terms of corralling right-handed bats allowing a .383 wOBA against them, but Minnesota hasn&#8217;t exactly lit up lefty pitchers this year. Their .310 team wOBA comes in just below average.
The Jays, meanwhile, will look to continue their success against right-handed pitchers tonight.
First pitch: 7:07 p.m. EST
Weather: 20C.
Toronto Blue Jays: 36-28, 9.5 GB, 0.5 WCGB, +30 DIFF.
Minnesota Twins: 31-32, &#8211; GB, &#8211; WCGB, +35 DIFF.
<a href="https://www.betano.ca/sport/baseball/north-america/mlb/1662/">Odds via Betano:</a>
Moneyline: TOR -125; MIN +105.
Starting pitchers:
TOR: Yusei Kikuchi LHP — 6-2, 12 GS, 61.1 IP. 4.40 ERA, 5.96 FIP, 1.370 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 0.@ bWAR.
MIN: Sonny Gray RHP — 4-1, 12 GP, 67.0 IP. 2.15 ERA, 2.430 FIP, 1.224 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 2.6 bWAR.
Lineups: 
Toronto 
<ol class="starting-lineups__team starting-lineups__team--home">
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/bo-bichette-666182" target="" rel="noopener">B Bichette</a> (R) SS</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/vladimir-guerrero-jr-665489" target="" rel="noopener">V Guerrero Jr.</a> (R) 1B</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/brandon-belt-474832" target="" rel="noopener">B Belt</a> (L) DH</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/matt-chapman-656305" target="" rel="noopener">M Chapman</a> (R) 3B</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/whit-merrifield-593160" target="" rel="noopener">W Merrifield</a> (R) LF</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/daulton-varsho-662139" target="" rel="noopener">D Varsho</a> (L) CF</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/santiago-espinal-669289" target="" rel="noopener">S Espinal</a> (R) 2B</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/cavan-biggio-624415" target="" rel="noopener">C Biggio</a> (L) RF</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/tyler-heineman-623168" target="" rel="noopener">T Heineman</a> (S) C</li>
</ol>
Minnesota
<ol class="starting-lineups__team starting-lineups__team--away">
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/donovan-solano-456781" target="" rel="noopener">D Solano</a> (R) 1B</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/willi-castro-650489" target="" rel="noopener">W Castro</a> (S) RF</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/kyle-garlick-664247" target="" rel="noopener">K Garlick</a> (R) LF</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/carlos-correa-621043" target="" rel="noopener">C Correa</a> (R) SS</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/kyle-farmer-571657" target="" rel="noopener">K Farmer</a> (R) 2B</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/ryan-jeffers-680777" target="" rel="noopener">R Jeffers</a> (R) DH</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/royce-lewis-668904" target="" rel="noopener">R Lewis</a> (R) 3B</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/christian-vazquez-543877" target="" rel="noopener">C Vázquez</a> (R) C</li>
<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/michael-a-taylor-572191" target="" rel="noopener">M Taylor</a> (R) CF</li>
</ol>
<h2>Need to bide the time until first pitch?</h2>
<a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2023/06/09/bjn-radio-ep-151-alek-manoah-heads-to-dunedin-blue-jays-finally-cut-ties-with-anthony-bass-and-more/">Tune into the latest edition of Blue Jays Nation Radio</a> as the crew talks about the Jays&#8217; latest series against the Houston Astros.
<iframe title="Spotify Embed: Alek Manoah heads to Dunedin, Blue Jays finally cut ties with Anthony Bass, and more" style="border-radius: 12px" width="100%" height="152" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" loading="lazy" src="https://open.spotify.com/embed/episode/5bNH661XPYkQnkBYfGLTKB?si=0jUIh9chQouZjWocRGsAHw&#038;utm_source=oembed"></iframe>
<hr />
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.
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The Toronto Blue Jays kick off their annual Pride weekend celebrations Friday night opening up a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins.



The Jays have been on a roll as of late kicking off a great streak, ironically enough, against the Twins in late May. Since they opened the series in Minnesota on May 26th, the Jays have gone 10-3 outscoring their opposition 51-38.

It's seen the Jays win each of the four series' they played taking out the Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets and Houston Astros. Two of those three losses came in Alek Manoah starts, while the other saw Bassitt take a loss in the Jays' second game against Minny.

Tonight, the Yusei Kikuchi Revenge Tour continues as the Jays look to keep this momentum going as the Twins counter with a right-handed heavy lineup.

Kikuchi has struggled the last two seasons in terms of corralling right-handed bats allowing a .383 wOBA against them, but Minnesota hasn't exactly lit up lefty pitchers this year. Their .310 team wOBA comes in just below average.

The Jays, meanwhile, will look to continue their success against right-handed pitchers tonight.

First pitch: 7:07 p.m. EST

Weather: 20C.

Toronto Blue Jays: 36-28, 9.5 GB, 0.5 WCGB, +30 DIFF.

Minnesota Twins: 31-32, - GB, - WCGB, +35 DIFF.

<a href="https://www.betano.ca/sport/baseball/north-america/mlb/1662/">Odds via Betano:</a>

Moneyline: TOR -125; MIN +105.

Starting pitchers:

TOR: Yusei Kikuchi LHP — 6-2, 12 GS, 61.1 IP. 4.40 ERA, 5.96 FIP, 1.370 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 0.@ bWAR.

MIN: Sonny Gray RHP — 4-1, 12 GP, 67.0 IP. 2.15 ERA, 2.430 FIP, 1.224 WHIP, 9.5 K/9, 2.6 bWAR.

Lineups: 

Toronto 
<ol class="starting-lineups__team starting-lineups__team--home">
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/bo-bichette-666182" target="" rel="noopener">B Bichette</a> (R) SS</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/vladimir-guerrero-jr-665489" target="" rel="noopener">V Guerrero Jr.</a> (R) 1B</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/brandon-belt-474832" target="" rel="noopener">B Belt</a> (L) DH</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/matt-chapman-656305" target="" rel="noopener">M Chapman</a> (R) 3B</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/whit-merrifield-593160" target="" rel="noopener">W Merrifield</a> (R) LF</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/daulton-varsho-662139" target="" rel="noopener">D Varsho</a> (L) CF</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/santiago-espinal-669289" target="" rel="noopener">S Espinal</a> (R) 2B</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/cavan-biggio-624415" target="" rel="noopener">C Biggio</a> (L) RF</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/tyler-heineman-623168" target="" rel="noopener">T Heineman</a> (S) C</li>
</ol>
Minnesota
<ol class="starting-lineups__team starting-lineups__team--away">
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/donovan-solano-456781" target="" rel="noopener">D Solano</a> (R) 1B</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/willi-castro-650489" target="" rel="noopener">W Castro</a> (S) RF</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/kyle-garlick-664247" target="" rel="noopener">K Garlick</a> (R) LF</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/carlos-correa-621043" target="" rel="noopener">C Correa</a> (R) SS</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/kyle-farmer-571657" target="" rel="noopener">K Farmer</a> (R) 2B</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/ryan-jeffers-680777" target="" rel="noopener">R Jeffers</a> (R) DH</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/royce-lewis-668904" target="" rel="noopener">R Lewis</a> (R) 3B</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/christian-vazquez-543877" target="" rel="noopener">C Vázquez</a> (R) C</li>
 	<li class="starting-lineups__player"><a class="starting-lineups__player--link" href="https://www.mlb.com/player/michael-a-taylor-572191" target="" rel="noopener">M Taylor</a> (R) CF</li>
</ol>
<h2>Need to bide the time until first pitch?</h2>
<a href="https://publish.bluejaysnation.com/2023/06/09/bjn-radio-ep-151-alek-manoah-heads-to-dunedin-blue-jays-finally-cut-ties-with-anthony-bass-and-more/">Tune into the latest edition of Blue Jays Nation Radio</a> as the crew talks about the Jays' latest series against the Houston Astros.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5bNH661XPYkQnkBYfGLTKB?si=0jUIh9chQouZjWocRGsAHw

<hr />

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing">@zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.

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