The Toronto Blue Jays will start Jose Berrios in Game 2 of their best-of-three wild-card series against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, the club announced Monday.
Kevin Gausman starts Game 1 on Tuesday.
Berrios, a former Twin, and Chris Bassitt were seen as the likeliest candidates to start Game 2.
Bassitt now likely is the man for Game 3, if necessary.
The move keeps the Blue Jays on turn in the rotation as Berrios was pitching ahead of Bassitt.
Bassitt had better numbers down the stretch, going 4-2 with a 2.61 ERA in his past seven games as compared to Berrios' 2-4 record with a 4.53 ERA.
Bassitt was 16-8 with a 3.60 ERA for the season, while Berrios was 11-12 with a 3.65 ERA.
However, Bassitt was roughed up in his lone start against the Twins this year -- giving up seven runs on nine hits in four innings on May 27.
Berrios gave up no runs on four hits in 5.2 innings against the Twins on May 28.
The Blue Jays acquired Berrios in a trade with the Twins prior to the 2021 trade deadline.
A two-time all-star with the Twins, Berrios bounced back from a rough 2022 season with Toronto to become one of the team's more effective starters this year.
It will mark Berrios' third playoff start after he started post-season games for the Twins in 2019 and '20.
Sonny Gray starts Game 2 for Minnesota. Pablo Lopez gets the ball in the opener.
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