Fresh off a 10-game road trip, the Minnesota Twins are eager to return home.
The Twins will enjoy familiar territory when they welcome the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night to open a three-game series in Minneapolis.
Minnesota posted a 5-5 record on its 10-game trip, which included series against the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners and Athletics. The Twins won their first three games in West Sacramento, Calif., before losing 14-3 against the Athletics on Thursday.
“We had a good road trip,” Minnesota manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We played a lot of really good baseball on the road trip. (An 11-day) trip, going all across the country, I was actually overall pleased. (Thursday) was a rough day, but overall pleased.”
Now comes a challenge at home against the hot Blue Jays.
Toronto has won seven of its past eight games, including back-to-back victories against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday and Thursday. The Blue Jays cruised to a 9-1 victory in their series finale against the Phillies, whom they outhit 14-5.
Bo Bichette will look to stay hot as the Blue Jays turn their focus toward the Twins. Bichette went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs on Thursday and is hitting .279 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 61 games this season.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Bichette is looking like himself at the plate after a tough 2024 campaign, when he hit .225 with four homers and 31 RBIs in 81 games.
“Last year was tough for him, between performance and health,” Schneider said. “You can never really count him out when you’re talking about a guy who’s going to compete and try to be better. It’s just Bo coming back to his normal. Offensively, he’s that talented.”
For his part, Bichette downplayed his recent success.
“I think I’ve been hitting the ball hard all year, squaring the ball up,” he said. “I’ve typically hit the ball hard my entire career.”
Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (4-1, 3.48 ERA) will try to cool down Bichette and his Blue Jays teammates. Ober is looking for his first victory since May 3.
In his most recent outing, he allowed two runs on six hits in four innings against the Mariners on Saturday. He walked one, struck out four and threw 64 of 97 pitches for strikes in his team’s 5-4 loss in 11 innings.
Ober has made five starts against the Blue Jays in his career. He is 2-2 with a 2.70 ERA in those games and has walked six and struck out 34 in 26 2/3 innings.
The Blue Jays had not named a starter for the series opener as of Friday morning.
Toronto left-hander Eric Lauer (1-1, 2.28 ERA) is expected to take on a prominent role in Friday’s game whether he starts or comes out of the bullpen. The 30-year-old has appeared in seven games this season, including two starts, for the season.
Lauer tossed four scoreless, hitless innings against the Phillies on Tuesday. He threw 33 of 43 pitches for strikes and struck out two to go with one walk as the Blue Jays lost 8-3.
–Field Level Media
