The Blue Jays (66-70) will head to the Twin Cities to take on Minnesota (72-61), losers of four straight and eight of their last ten. The Twins are currently clinging to the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League, with Boston and Seattle looking to gain ground in the coming weeks.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
The Minnesota Twins vs:
The Chicago White Sox: 12-1
Vs Everyone else: 60-60 <a href="https://t.co/8djkipqw4U">pic.twitter.com/8djkipqw4U</a>
&mdash; Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) <a href="https://twitter.com/StoolBaseball/status/1828985064144715903?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 29, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Nuts and Bolts
Friday, August 30th, 8:10 EST: Kevin Gausman (12-9, 4.10 ERA) vs Pablo Lopez (12-8, 4.26 ERA)
Saturday, August 31st, 7:10 EST: Jose Berrios (13-9, 3.72 ERA) vs Zebby Matthews (1-1, 3.00 ERA)
Sunday, September 1st, 2:10 EST: Yariel Rodriguez (1-6, 4.82 ERA) vs Bailey Ober (12-6, 4.06 ERA)
Starting Pitching
The Twins rank in the middle of the pack as far as pitching production this year, placing 16th in total team ERA and 18th in starting pitching ERA. Friday&#8217;s starter Pablo López and Sunday&#8217;s starter Bailey Ober have formed a nice duo this year, leading the club in wins with 12. Lopez has been a touch better overall, leading the club in strikeouts (161), while doing a nice job in limiting free passes (33). Ober has had a bit of a breakout season in 2024, owning an impressive 1.04 WHIP on the season while leading the team with a .213 opponent&#8217;s batting average.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Bailey Ober putting on a Changeup show.
11 Swings &amp; Misses. <a href="https://t.co/GHk5AlBA0z">pic.twitter.com/GHk5AlBA0z</a>
&mdash; Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href="https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1821996206563700824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 9, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The team received a crushing blow in recent weeks with starting pitcher Joe Ryan suffering a shoulder strain and <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/joe-ryan-60-day-injured-list-twins#:~:text=Because%20Ryan's%20IL%20placement%20for,the%20regular%20season%20on%20Sept.">being shut down</a> for the rest of the regular season. A case could be made that Ryan was the best overall starter for the team this year, sporting a 3.60 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. There is still a longshot hope that he may be able to return for the postseason.
Rookie Zebby Matthews gets the ball on Saturday, as he will try to build off his impressive first three Major League starts. He has gone exactly five innings in each start, with his most recent game against the Cardinals being the most impressive. The 24-year old allowed just four hits with no walks and one earned run while punching out seven.
Bullpen
The Twins bullpen has been league average in 2024, ranking 15th in the Major Leagues with a 3.94 ERA. Closer Jhoan Durán has been less dominant than in the past two seasons, orchestrating a 3.77 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. He has missed fewer bats than he had in 2022 and 2023, striking out 49 in 43.0 IP.
The team&#8217;s most dominating reliever has undoubtedly been Griffin Jax. Through a team best 60 relief outings, he has spun a 1.70 ERA and microscopic 0.82 WHIP to go along with a .172 opponent&#8217;s batting average. He has also struck out 76 through 58.1 IP on the season. The 29 year old has managed to close out eight games, although he has blown four saves.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Griffin Jax, Vicious 93mph Changeup. 😤 <a href="https://t.co/i5u94SKWXs">pic.twitter.com/i5u94SKWXs</a>
&mdash; Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href="https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1800338857075908714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Righthander Cole Sands has also been an impressive bullpen piece for the Twins, sporting a 3.02 ERA and 0.96 WHIP on the season. He has walked just eight batters all year, compared to 67 strikeouts in 59.2 IP.
Behind Durán, Jax, and Sands, the team has struggled to find consistency in their bullpen. The team may be regretting the decision not to add a left-handed reliever at the deadline, as the team&#8217;s only southpaws Caleb Thielbar and Kody Funderburk have struggled for much of the year.
Hitting
The Twins have somewhat quietly been a very potent offense in 2024, with their .750 OPS ranking 6th in the Major Leagues.
The club doesn&#8217;t really have any one player that is having an incredible year per se, instead relying on a a number of players to produce runs. Catcher Ryan Jeffers leads the club in home runs with 20, as he&#8217;s been one of the better hitting backstops in the American League this season. Willi Castro has had a bit of a breakout season, leading the team in hits (122), runs (79), and steals (12). Carlos Santana has also been a productive player, placing second on the team with 18 home runs while leading the club with 52 walks.
The team has received some hot hitting lately from a couple of corner outfielders in Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MNTwins?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MNTwins</a> Matt Wallner’s last 123 G:
.255/.379/.540 (.919) 151 OPS+
23 HR (48 XBH) — 66 RBI
5-for-6 in SB attempts
His savant stats are through the roof &amp; he arguably has baseball’s strongest arm💪🏼 <a href="https://t.co/PNdgWBxkRo">pic.twitter.com/PNdgWBxkRo</a>
&mdash; Keat_on (@keatN34) <a href="https://twitter.com/keatN34/status/1827730284193685804?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 25, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Wallner has spent the majority of the year with Triple-A St. Paul, but has gone gangbusters since arriving in Minnesota. through 51 games, he has hit ten homeruns, while managing an OPS just north of 1.000. He has been particularly good lately, ranking 7th in the Major Leagues in OPS (1.033) over the last 30 days.
Larnach hasn&#8217;t had quite as impressive of a season as Wallner, but he&#8217;s been swinging a hot bat lately. Over his last ten games, the former Oregon State Beaver is 13 for 35 with three homers and four doubles. He certainly seems like a player that the club will be relying on in the last few weeks of the season.
Final Word
The Twins have to be feeling some pressure to take care of business this weekend after getting swept by the Braves earlier this week. The relatively hot Blue Jays will look to play spoiler as they try to gain momentum heading into the offseason.

The Blue Jays (66-70) will head to the Twin Cities to take on Minnesota (72-61), losers of four straight and eight of their last ten. The Twins are currently clinging to the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League, with Boston and Seattle looking to gain ground in the coming weeks.

https://twitter.com/StoolBaseball/status/1828985064144715903

Nuts and Bolts

Friday, August 30th, 8:10 EST: Kevin Gausman (12-9, 4.10 ERA) vs Pablo Lopez (12-8, 4.26 ERA)

Saturday, August 31st, 7:10 EST: Jose Berrios (13-9, 3.72 ERA) vs Zebby Matthews (1-1, 3.00 ERA)

Sunday, September 1st, 2:10 EST: Yariel Rodriguez (1-6, 4.82 ERA) vs Bailey Ober (12-6, 4.06 ERA)

Starting Pitching

The Twins rank in the middle of the pack as far as pitching production this year, placing 16th in total team ERA and 18th in starting pitching ERA. Friday's starter Pablo López and Sunday's starter Bailey Ober have formed a nice duo this year, leading the club in wins with 12. Lopez has been a touch better overall, leading the club in strikeouts (161), while doing a nice job in limiting free passes (33). Ober has had a bit of a breakout season in 2024, owning an impressive 1.04 WHIP on the season while leading the team with a .213 opponent's batting average.

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1821996206563700824

The team received a crushing blow in recent weeks with starting pitcher Joe Ryan suffering a shoulder strain and <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/joe-ryan-60-day-injured-list-twins#:~:text=Because%20Ryan's%20IL%20placement%20for,the%20regular%20season%20on%20Sept.">being shut down</a> for the rest of the regular season. A case could be made that Ryan was the best overall starter for the team this year, sporting a 3.60 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. There is still a longshot hope that he may be able to return for the postseason.

Rookie Zebby Matthews gets the ball on Saturday, as he will try to build off his impressive first three Major League starts. He has gone exactly five innings in each start, with his most recent game against the Cardinals being the most impressive. The 24-year old allowed just four hits with no walks and one earned run while punching out seven.

Bullpen

The Twins bullpen has been league average in 2024, ranking 15th in the Major Leagues with a 3.94 ERA. Closer Jhoan Durán has been less dominant than in the past two seasons, orchestrating a 3.77 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. He has missed fewer bats than he had in 2022 and 2023, striking out 49 in 43.0 IP.

The team's most dominating reliever has undoubtedly been Griffin Jax. Through a team best 60 relief outings, he has spun a 1.70 ERA and microscopic 0.82 WHIP to go along with a .172 opponent's batting average. He has also struck out 76 through 58.1 IP on the season. The 29 year old has managed to close out eight games, although he has blown four saves.

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1800338857075908714

Righthander Cole Sands has also been an impressive bullpen piece for the Twins, sporting a 3.02 ERA and 0.96 WHIP on the season. He has walked just eight batters all year, compared to 67 strikeouts in 59.2 IP.

Behind Durán, Jax, and Sands, the team has struggled to find consistency in their bullpen. The team may be regretting the decision not to add a left-handed reliever at the deadline, as the team's only southpaws Caleb Thielbar and Kody Funderburk have struggled for much of the year.

Hitting

The Twins have somewhat quietly been a very potent offense in 2024, with their .750 OPS ranking 6th in the Major Leagues.

The club doesn't really have any one player that is having an incredible year per se, instead relying on a a number of players to produce runs. Catcher Ryan Jeffers leads the club in home runs with 20, as he's been one of the better hitting backstops in the American League this season. Willi Castro has had a bit of a breakout season, leading the team in hits (122), runs (79), and steals (12). Carlos Santana has also been a productive player, placing second on the team with 18 home runs while leading the club with 52 walks.

The team has received some hot hitting lately from a couple of corner outfielders in Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach.

https://twitter.com/keatN34/status/1827730284193685804

Wallner has spent the majority of the year with Triple-A St. Paul, but has gone gangbusters since arriving in Minnesota. through 51 games, he has hit ten homeruns, while managing an OPS just north of 1.000. He has been particularly good lately, ranking 7th in the Major Leagues in OPS (1.033) over the last 30 days.

Larnach hasn't had quite as impressive of a season as Wallner, but he's been swinging a hot bat lately. Over his last ten games, the former Oregon State Beaver is 13 for 35 with three homers and four doubles. He certainly seems like a player that the club will be relying on in the last few weeks of the season.

Final Word

The Twins have to be feeling some pressure to take care of business this weekend after getting swept by the Braves earlier this week. The relatively hot Blue Jays will look to play spoiler as they try to gain momentum heading into the offseason.

Up next: Jays head to Minnesota to take on slumping Twins

Blue Jays: Examining Braydon Fisher’s breakout season

Toronto Blue Jays designated hitter George Springer (21) slides into second base on a double against the Tampa Bay Rays in the third inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field

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