The Toronto Blue Jays will need to have a short memory.
One day after a bullpen implosion resulted in a deflating 7-5 loss against the Minnesota Twins, Toronto will host the AL Central squad on Wednesday for the rubber-match of a three-game series.
Meanwhile, Eric Lauer will start for the first time since being briefly bumped from the rotation in favour of trade-deadline addition Shane Bieber.
Live coverage on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ begins with Blue Jays Central at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT.
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Watch Blue Jays vs. Twins on Sportsnet
The Toronto Blue Jays wrap a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. Catch the action on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+ starting at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
Lauer will be called upon to settle the Blue Jays after the team blew a 4-0 lead on Tuesday, but the lefty’s last scheduled start was skipped in favour of Bieber as Toronto manages a six-man rotation.
In his first season with the Blue Jays, Lauer has impressed with an 8-2 record with a 2.76 ERA while striking out nearly one batter per inning. He last pitched Aug. 16 in a win over the Texas Rangers, and allowed four hits, three walks and one run over five innings.
Behind Lauer, however, there are suddenly questions in the Blue Jays bullpen. Closer Jeff Hoffman blew his second straight save opportunity on Tuesday when he coughed up two home runs in the ninth inning, while other relievers have struggled with command, too.
It may be imperative, then, that Blue Jays hitters continue surging offensively as the team leads MLB with a 57-3 record when scoring five or more runs. Over its last 11 games, Toronto sits 6-0 when hitting that five-run mark, but is 0-5 when scoring fewer than five.
Simeon Woods Richardson (5-4, 4.24 ERA) will start on the mound for Minnesota. He last pitched July 28, when he struggled over 4.2 innings against the Boston Red Sox, allowing seven hits and three runs.
The former Blue Jays farmhand — he was dealt to the Twins in the 2021 Jose Berrios trade — missed the last month while recovering from a procedure to remove a parasite from his digestive tract.
Minnesota (60-72) sits fourth in the AL Central, while Toronto (77-56) continues to lead the AL East ahead of the Boston Red Sox (73-60) and New York Yankees (72-60).
The Blue Jays have a day off Thursday before welcoming the MLB-leading Milwaukee Brewers to Toronto for a three-game series beginning Friday.
