Toronto @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 2, 2010 ) Toronto 4, Minnesota 5

While the Toronto Blue Jays celebrate the past and the future in Sunday's regular-season finale in Minnesota, the Twins are firmly fixed on the present – and it isn't pretty.

The Blue Jays and Twins do battle in matinee action at Target Field to conclude a four-game series. Toronto won the first two games of the set while Minnesota rallied for a dramatic victory Saturday afternoon.

Sunday's game represents a changing of the guard in Toronto, as manager Cito Gaston winds down his second incarnation as manager of the Blue Jays. The only man to guide Toronto to a World Series champion couldn't turn the trick the second time around, though he has lead the Jays to respectability in his season-and-a-half at the helm.

Gaston's Jays have a shot at reaching the 85-win plateau, a heady achievement for a team playing in the same division as the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox – each of whom will finish with no fewer than 88 victories. It's a similar outcome to their 2007 campaign, when they finished 86-76 but still settled for a distant fourth in the standings.

Minnesota is in a better position, having captured the American League Central title last month. The Twins are gunning for victory No. 95, but would like more importantly to put together a winning streak. Minnesota has lost seven of its last nine games, and narrowly avoided making it eight of nine before rallying for two runs in the ninth inning of Saturday's 5-4 win.

The Twins send right-hander Nick Blackburn (10-11) to the mound in the season finale. The 28-year-old has had a largely forgettable season, posting a dreadful 5.55 ERA while allowing 23 home runs in 154 innings.

That doesn't bode well against a team that sits at 255 homers for the season, two shy of equaling the third-highest all-time single-season total. Blackburn hasn't faced Toronto this season, but has fared well at home, posting a 7-3 mark with a 3.81 ERA while allowing just eight long balls over 82 2/3 innings.

His last outing was a rough one, as he was charged with eight runs over just 4 1/3 innings on the way to a 10-1 loss in Kansas City. Opponents are hitting a robust .308 off him for the season.

The Jays counter with second-year hurler Mark Rzepczynski (3-4), who will be making his case for a spot in the 2011 starting rotation. The hard-throwing left-hander is on a tear, having racked up 17 strikeouts over 11 1/3 combined innings in consecutive victories over the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees.

Rzepczynski had a strong September, going 2-1 in five starts while allowing more than three runs in just one of them. Walks remain a concern – he has issued 28 free passes in 56 1/3 innings – and opponents are batting .302 against him for the season, though he limited the Yankees to just four hits over five solid innings.