Can the 2026 Blue Jays Turn Things Around in Their Upcoming Series Against the Twins?
It’s clear that Toronto’s 2026 start hasn’t lived up to the historic end of its 2025 season, and the Injured List is to blame. They haven’t won a series since they swept their first against the Athletics. The Jays went 2-1 against the Rockies, 3-0 against the White Sox, and 2-1 against the Dodgers. They finally broke their six-game losing streak by beating LA 4-3 on April 8th. Now it’s time to see if they can use that momentum to break their three-series losing streak and improve their 5-7 record. Starting on Friday, April 10th at 7:07 P.M. EST., their fate will be in the Minnesota Twins' hands. Now 6-6 after Wednesday’s win against the Detroit Tigers, the Twins are looking to improve after their disappointing 2025 season. Last year, the team posted its first losing record since 2022, going 70-92, and was eliminated from playoff contention in mid-September. Rocco Baldelli, their manager since 2018, was fired at the end of the season and replaced in October by Derek Shelton. Shelton was the bench coach for the Twins at the beginning of Baldelli’s era, but has been the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates since 2020. Both teams should be eager to turn around their rocky starts. With Toronto finally breaking a losing streak and Minnesota set to win their series against Detroit, this should be a captivating weekend of baseball.
The Twins are 3-0 in their current series with only one game left, but they almost lost their most recent matchup after giving up a 7-run lead. They were up 7-0 until they let the Tigers score two in the sixth inning and four in the seventh. Thankfully, they held Detroit off to win 8-6, but the team likely wasn’t happy with that outcome. Luckily for Minnesota, the Blue Jays aren’t at the top of their game either. Simeon Woods Richardson will start off pitching for the Twins this series. In the 11 and two-thirds innings he has pitched over two games this year, he has recorded no wins and one loss. He has had six strikeouts with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.114 WHIP. The righty spent two years with the Blue Jays’ minor league affiliates before being part of the trade for José Berríos. Berríos has been a great addition to Toronto, but is currently on the team's problematic injured list. The team’s second starter should be all-star Joe Ryan. The 29-year-old has one win and one loss in three starts so far this year. While his ERA is 4.40, he’s struck out 17 batters in 14 ⅓ innings. Lastly, the Blue Jays should face Taj Bradley on Sunday. The 22-year-old has an impressive 2-0 record with a 1.09 ERA in 2026. He has also had 22 strikeouts over 16 and two-thirds innings. While Minnesota’s first two starters don’t look like they should be too much of a problem for the Blue Jays, Bradley could be dangerous for a struggling team.
The star of the Twins’ offense is Byron Buxton. Although he is known for spending extended time on the IL, his true potential shone through last season when he played 126 games, the most he had recorded in almost a decade. In 2025, he had a .264 batting average, a .878 OPS, and 35 home runs. So far, he has yet to hit a home run but has posted a .214 AVG and a .625 OPS. His accolades include two all-star appearances, one Gold Glove for center field, one Platinum Glove, and a Silver Slugger. Another outfielder who can be dangerous at the plate is Matt Wallner. The 28-year-old currently has three home runs, a .224 AVG, and a .718 OPS. Lastly, first baseman Josh Bell currently leads the team in walks, RBIs, OBP, and OPS. The 33-year-old has a .270 AVG, two home runs, nine RBIs, and a .945 OPS. With Toronto’s lineup struggling with its constant setbacks, these three batters could take advantage of a depleting pitching rotation to get their team to a winning record.
In response to a majority of their starting pitchers being on the IL, the Blue Jays signed veteran Patrick Corbin to a one-year, one-million-dollar contract on April 3rd. Fortunately, the 36-year-old has kept his arm warm in the offseason and, after just a couple of minor-league starts, is expected to be ready for Friday’s game. The two-time all-star has a career ERA of 4.51 and a WHIP of 1.372. He has struck out 1,860 batters over 2,047 and two-thirds innings in his 14-year career. While he’s not the kind of starter Toronto wanted, hopefully, he’ll save the team’s record until the rest of the starters heal. Corbin is close with one of Toronto’s other pitchers, Max Scherzer. The two live near each other in Florida and won the 2019 World Series together while playing for the Washington Nationals. Scherzer’s last start ended prematurely when he left the game after only pitching two innings due to forearm tendinitis. Both manager John Schneider and the pitcher himself believe he’ll be able to start Sunday’s game, but with how this season’s been going for Toronto, nothing is certain. So far this season, the eight-time Cy Young Award winner has recorded a 3.38 ERA and one WHIP over eight innings. Eric Lauer will hopefully start between the two all-stars after his start last weekend was pushed back a day due to illness. His last game resulted in a loss since he wasn’t 100%, but hopefully, his week-long break was enough time to recover. In only two innings, he had a 4.91 ERA with three walks, three hits, two errors, and zero strikeouts. His first start this season was a more accurate reflection of his talents, with nine strikeouts and a 3.38 ERA in five innings. At this point, the Blue Jays must want these pitchers to stay healthy more than they want them to win. Not adding any more pitchers to the IL would be an accomplishment for Toronto this weekend.
One thing going right for the 2025 World Series runner-ups is that their five-time all-star, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., finally broke his slump. He got his first home run of the season on Saturday, April 4th, and had no strikeouts in his last game. He now has a .268 AVG and a .778 OPS. In addition, an underrated star for the Blue Jays recently has been outfielder Jesús Sánchez. The 28-year-old has helped his team on both offense and defense. While not always a starter, Sánchez has played in 11 of Toronto’s 12 games so far. He currently has one home run, a .281 AVG, and a .799 OPS. In the outfield, he also has a perfect fielding percentage. Leading the team in batting average and hits is Ernie Clement. The current second baseman has a .271 AVG, 13 hits, and a .619 OPS. He’s also been a key player on the field with 15 putouts, 27 assists, and a 0.977 fielding percentage. The Blue Jays can win games despite inconsistent pitching when their batters are at their best, which is exactly what they’ll need this weekend.
An interesting fact about this game is that each team has half of a set of identical twins. Tyler Rogers of the Toronto Blue Jays and Taylor Rogers of the Minnesota Twins are both relief pitchers for their respective teams. Tyler is a righty with a 1.050 WHIP, while Taylor is a lefty with a 1.400 WHIP. They became the first twins in MLB history to pitch against each other in April 2022. It’s unclear whether they will take the field on the same day as members of their bullpens, but hopefully, fate aligns for another historical moment this weekend. Toronto has been very comfortable this year, with only one away series, and will have the home-field advantage again for this one. The Twins are also coming off a seven-game home stretch, so hopefully, they are well rested for this short road trip. Until the Jays shorten their IL, all of their matchups will be unpredictable, and Minnesota will have to hope that works out in their favor.
The series will most likely be very back-and-forth, since that’s been the theme of both teams’ seasons so far. The Blue Jays should be the better team, but they haven’t been at their best yet. Most teams have taken advantage of that so far, and the Twins could too. They will get a rest day on April 9th, while Minnesota will have to travel right after their afternoon game, leaving them little time to recover. It’s unlikely one team will sweep the entire series, but both are looking to improve their record to a winning one, so it should be a competitive matchup.
