MINNEAPOLIS – Here we go again.

An Orioles win tonight earns the home Wild Card, otherwise the Tigers would have to lose to the White Sox.

Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter with Ryan Mountcastle at first base. Jordan Westburg gets another start at second base, batting second.

Cade Povich will make his first career appearance against the team that drafted him in 2021. He has posted a 3.27 ERA and 0.955 WHIP in four starts totaling 22 innings this month, striking out 30 batters. Opponents are hitting .175/.241/.363.

Twenty-six of Anthony Santander’s 77 hits on the road this season have been home runs (33.8 percent), the highest percentage by an Oriole with at least 75 hits since Brady Anderson’s 35.2 in 1996, according to STATS.

The Orioles won a three-game series against the Twins at Target Field last year by a combined score of 24-5. The teams met at Camden Yards in April and the Orioles won the three-game series while defeating the Twins 22-9.

The winning streak has grown to seven games at 48-15. One more would tie the franchise’s second-longest stretch behind twelve in a row from 1980-81 according to STATS.

Gunnar Henderson is 1,177 behind this season against the American League Central. He homered in all three games against the Twins in April.

Minnesota righthander Pablo López is 15-9 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.180 WHIP in 31 starts, and he has walked 38 and struck out 190 in 179 2/3 innings.

López had three consecutive scoreless starts in August, totaling 20 2/3 innings. He didn’t give up an earned run in seven innings against the Angels on September 10 and held the Guardians to two runs in 6 1/3 before facing the Red Sox in his final appearance, surrendering seven runs and nine hits in four innings. .

The Orioles faced López on April 17 in Baltimore and were held to one run and two hits in six innings. Gunnar Henderson hit a leadoff homer. López has made three career starts against the Orioles, going 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA and 0.588 WHIP in 17 innings.

The Twins were in the thick of the Wild Card race, but fell to “first team out” status in the playoffs. They lost five of six games before beating the Marlins 8-3 on Wednesday. They previously had nine defeats in twelve games in August.

Minnesota was 70-53 through August 17, but has gone 12-24 with a 4.65 ERA and a .266 opponents’ average, the worst marks in the American League during that span according to STATS.

For the Orioles

Gunnar Henderson SS
Jordan Westburg 2B
Antonius Santander RF
Colton Cowser LF
Adley Rutschman C
Ryan O’Hearn DH
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Carlo Mullins CF
Ramón Urías 3B

Cade Povich LHP

For the twins

Manuel Margot RF
Carlos Correa SS
Byron Buxton CF
Carlos Santana 1B
Royce Lewis3B
Kyle Farmer 2B
Ryan Jeffers DH
Christian Vazquez C
Willi CastroLF

Pablo López RHP