Game #108 Preview: Gausman vs Archer

The Blue Jays wrap up their four game series with the Twins in Minneapolis this afternoon, looking to earn the split after a pair of tough fought losses the last couple days. Today’s game is set to get underway at 2:10 ET.

Blue Jays’ Starter

Kevin Gausman heads to the mound for the Jays, making his 21st start of the year. It has been a great year for him on the mound, although he enters play with an 8-8 record. But the ERA is great at 3.06, and going beyond that, he still leads the Major Leagues in FIP at 2.01. His strikeout rate is right in line with last year at 10.64 per 9 innings, his career best rate outside of the 2020 season. But it’s also his BB rate (nearly 1 per 9 innings below his career average) and his home run rate (less than half of his career average) that is really seeing him have success this year.

Gausman pitched against the Twins earlier this year when they were at the Rogers Centre, and he had one of his worst starts of the year in that one. He pitched just 3.2 innings, allowing 5 runs (3 earned) on 9 hits and a walk, striking out just 3. He did keep the ball in the ballpark, but the Twins connected on a lot of balls that just found the turf. Hopefully he’ll be able to have a bit more fortune today.

Twins’ Starter

Chris Archer will go for the Twins, making his 19th start of the season. He is 2-5 with a 4.05 ERA over 73.1 innings this year, giving him the lowest innings pitched per start in baseball this year, averaging just barely over 4 per game. He’s long removed from his peak with the Rays, but he’s still a serviceable back of the rotation arm who can pitch well enough twice through the order to give his team a chance to win.

Blue Jays’ Lineup

Twins’ Lineup

Yesterday’s Heroes

Jose Barrero went 2-4 with a pair of home runs and 3 RBI, earning himself the Monster Bat award. His big day helped his Reds beat the Brewers 7-5.

Ryan McMahon hit a big solo home run in the top of the 9th inning, giving his Rockies the 3-2 lead, a lead they would hold on to. For his part McMahon gets the WPA King trophy with a .359 mark, as the Rockies downed the Diamondbacks 3-2.

Max Scherzer was his vintage dominating self again yesterday, throwing 7 shutout innings to pick up the Pitcher of the Day award. He struck out 11 and didn’t walk anyone, earning the win as the Mets beat the Braves 6-2.

Find the Link

Find the link between Jorge Polanco and Marco Estrada.

Stats retrieved from Fangraphs and Baseball Savant