October postseason baseball is finally upon us, and Tuesday’s slate of Wild Card games include an American League matchup between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins.
Loaded with solid pitching and thump in the lineup, both of these teams are hoping to get through to the next round to take on the Houston Astros.
As you consider your MLB picks, read ahead to get a breakdown of this matchup and our Toronto Blue Jays vs Minnesota Twins best bets.
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Minnesota Twins Odds
Blue Jays vs. Twins Information
Toronto Blue Jays vs Minnesota Twins
Location of the game: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 3. 4:38 pm ET.
How to watch: National – ESPN | ESPN-INT
Recent Scores
Looking at the recent MLB schedule, the Blue Jays come into this one having gone 4-6 in their last ten games. To their credit, they did play better on the road this season (46-35) than at home (43-38).
In the MLB standings, the Blue Jays finished third in a loaded AL East, 12 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. They come into this one as the third Wild Card team.
Looking at the Minnesota Twins’ schedule, they are 7-3 in their last 10 MLB games. When playing at Target Field during the regular season, they are 47-34.
The Twins finished the season atop the AL Central rankings. They won the division by nine games over the second-place Detroit Tigers.
Toronto Blue Jays vs. Minnesota Twins Analysis
Trying to take the opener, the Blue Jays will turn to 32-year-old Kevin Gausman. Analyzing his MLB player stats, he went 12-9 with a 3.16 ERA in 31 regular season starts. He also had a 1.18 WHIP and struck out 237 in 185 innings.
In his last outing, Gausman threw seven scoreless innings in a no-decision against the Yankees. In fact, he hasn’t given up an earned run in his last 13 innings.
Out of all MLB teams, Toronto ranked 14th this year in scoring, averaging 4.60 runs per game (4.99 on the road).
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (26 HR, 94 RBI), George Springer (21 HR, 72 RBI, 87 R, 20 SB), and Bo Bichette (20 HR, 73 RBI, 69 R) led the Blue Jays’ offense this year.
Late-Season Struggles
Twins’ manager Rocco Baldelli will counter in Game 1 with 27-year-old righty Pablo Lopez. In 32 regular season starts, he went 11-8 with a 3.66 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, and he had 234 strikeouts in 194 innings.
In his last three starts, Lopez has gone 1-1 and has allied 11 earned runs over a combined 15.1 innings of work.
The Minnesota Twins roster ranks 10th in scoring this season. They are averaging 4.80 runs overall and 4.84 runs per game when playing at Target Field.
MLB Injury Report
The MLB injury report shows the Blue Jays are without catcher Danny Jansen (finger). The Twins are without Byron Buxton (hamstring) and pitcher Tyler Mahle (elbow).
Odds Breakdown
Before determining our Toronto Blue Jays vs Minnesota Twins best bets, it is important to look at the MLB odds for this game.
Blue Jays Slight Underdogs On The Road
In what is almost a pick’em game, the Blue Jays come in as slight underdogs playing on the road. They are +100 on the moneyline. The spread features them at +1.5, with odds of -215.
Twins Home Favorites On Tuesday
The Twins will look to take Tuesday’s opener as home favorites. They are -110 to win. On the spread, they are -1.5, with odds of +180.
The over/under for total runs sits at 7.5. The over has odds of +100, while the under 7.5 runs has odds of -120.
Blue Jays vs. Twins Betting Pick and Prediction
- For our Toronto Blue Jays vs Minnesota Twins best bets, we will be taking the Blue Jays to win straight up (+100) on the road in this one.
While both of these pitchers have the ability to dominate a game, it is Gausman who comes in pitching better between the two. It also helps that Toronto is 6-3 in their last nine games at Target Field.
In terms of the total runs, take the over 7.5 (+100) in this one. The over has hit in four of Toronto’s last five road games and nine of the last 13 games between these two teams. Expect that trend to continue in this one.
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