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ESPN will host Tuesday’s Wild Card Game 1 between the No. 6 Toronto Blue Jays and the No. 3 Minnesota Twins, with first pitch set for 4:38 p.m. ET at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It’s a star-studded matchup on the mound, with Jays ace Kevin Gausman (12-9, 3.16 ERA) going up against Twins righty Pablo Lopez (11-8, 3.66).
Toronto didn’t exactly streak into the postseason, losing each of its last two series and six of its last 10 overall — including ugly losses in its last two games at home against the Rays, each of which would’ve allowed them to clinch a Wild Card spot. But the Jays banked enough wins to get in anyway — they were above .500 in all but one month this season — and now they’ll look to ride a formidable rotation (Toronto ranked third in baseball in starters’ ERA this year, behind Gausman, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt) and an offense that disappointe da bit this year but still has loads of potential.
Minnesota has plenty of pitching firepower themselves, ranking just above the Jays in starters’ ERA and going at least five deep in quality starters in Lopez, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Kenta Maeda. An all-or-nothing offense that led the Majors in strikeouts kept the Twins mired around .500 for much of this year, but they were second only to the Braves in OPS in September — a big reason why they went 18-9 last month and won eight of their last 10 games, running away with the moribund AL Central. With Royce Lewis and Carlos Correa likely set to return from injury, this team could be an AL dark horse.
The Twins enter as -120 favorites on the moneyline at DraftKings Sportsbook, with Toronto at +100. The run total is set at 7.5.
Blue Jays vs. Twins Game 1 live stream
Pitchers: Kevin Gausman vs. Pablo Lopez
First pitch: 4:38 p.m. ET
Moneyline odds: Twins -120, Blue Jays +100
TV channel: ESPN
Live stream: WatchESPN, ESPN app
If you aren’t around a TV to check out this MLB matchup, you can stream the game via WatchESPN or the ESPN app. But keep in mind that you need a cable-login subscription. If you don’t have a cable login to access ESPN for a live stream, you can get a free trial from YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, or Sling TV to stream the game.