Who are the starting pitchers for Twins vs. Blue Jays in AL Wild Card Series?

On Tuesday, October 3, the Toronto Blue Jays will travel to Target Field in Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Twins. Despite Jays having the better record, the Twins won their division, the AL Central, and will thus retain home field advantage.

The series represents one of the two Wild Card Series, owing to the expanded MLB playoff format. The two teams finished with similar records, with the Jays posting 89 wins compared to the Twins' 87 victories.

The best-of-three series will be played in consecutive days, and each game has a scheduled start time of 3:38 pm local time, or 4:38 pm Eastern.

Toronto Blue Jays starting pitchers

Listed below are the probable starting pitchers for the Blue Jays.

• Game 1- Kevin Gausman
• Game 2- Jose Berrios
• Game 3- Chris Bassitt

Right hander Kevin Gausman will take the mound for the Jays on Tuesday. With 237 strikeouts, Gausman leads the entire AL in the category. In the second season of his five-year, $110 million committment with the Jays, Kevin Gausman has pitched to a 3.16 ERA in 185 innings of work.

Known for his nasty splitter, Gausman has been a strikeout machine. In addition to owning the most strikeouts in the league, the 2010 Los Angeles Dodgers sixth rounder has a K/Win rate of 11.5, which is also the highest value in the league.

"Kevin Gausman, 96mph Fastball and 88mph Splitter, Overlay" - Pitching Ninja

Minnesota Twins starting pitchers

Listed below are the probable starting pitchers for the Twins.

• Game 1- Pablo Lopez
• Game 2- Sonny Gray
• Game 3- Joe Ryan

For the Minnesota Twins, Pablo Lopez will get the ball. Interestingly, Lopez' 234 strikeouts in 2023 are second only to Gausman's. Now in his fifth season, the Venezuelan arrived in Minnesota by virtue of a trade that sent 2022 AL batting leader Luis Arraez to the Miami Marlins.

Lopez, 27, has been an ace for the Twins this season. In 32 appearances, the 6-foot-4 right hander is 11-8 with an ERA of 3.66. Additionally, Lopez has pitched to a WHIP of 1.155 this year, and has been one of the AL's most effective pitchers at limiting home runs and keeping the ball in play.

"Que ha contribuido a una meojora tan significante para Pablo Lopez en este 2023? @jcrod22 nos expica" - The Driveline Espanol

Who will have the advantage?

While both pitchers are some of the best in the AL, the Minnesota Twins have a stark disadvantage when it comes to offense. Despite the fact that the Twins have among the highest home run number in MLB, the Toronto Blue Jays are regarded as being one of the league's best hitting sides.