The Minnesota Twins (55-49) will host the Toronto Blue Jays (58-46) in the opener of a big four-game series on Thursday. The Twins took two out of three games from the Blue Jays when these two teams met in Toronto in early June.
The Toronto Blue Jays are second in the AL East, trailing the New York Yankees by 11 games, but they do lead the Wild Card race in the American League. The Blue Jays had their three-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday in a 3-2 loss to the Rays.
The Blue Jays are scheduled to start All-Star Alex Manoah (11-5, 2.43 ERA) on Thursday. In 10 road starts, Manoah is 5-3 with a 2.37 ERA, and he has been consistent for most of the season, regardless of where he has pitched.
Whit Merrifield has been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, sources tell ESPN.
One has to believe he'll be getting vaccinated.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 2, 2022
Toronto was a buyer at the trade deadline acquiring Whit Merrifield (6 HR, 42 RBI, 15 SB) from the Kansas City Royals and Mitch White (1-2, 3.70 ERA) from the Dodgers. As of now, Merrifield is not vaccinated, which currently prevents him from playing in Canada, but he should be a nice addition to the lineup for this series in Minnesota.
The Blue Jays are first in MLB with a .264 batting average, third with 4.8 runs scored per game, and sixth with 133 home runs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads the team with 21 home runs and 63 RBI, followed by Matt Chapman with 20 home runs and 57 RBI.