TORONTO -- It only took 161 games and four hours, but the 2023 Blue Jays are finally headed to the postseason.

Toronto clinched its spot late Saturday with help from a Mariners loss, which finally made the math work. The Blue Jays have taken the long road to this clinch and didn’t make it easy on themselves in the final days, but now, they can look ahead to the October run that they’ve rebuilt themselves for.

A 12-8 loss to the Rays in Sunday’s season finale at Rogers Centre placed Toronto in the third American League Wild Card spot. The club will now head for Minneapolis to face the AL Central-champion Twins in a best-of-three set starting on Tuesday at Target Field.

• Blue Jays-Twins position-by-position breakdown

Here’s everything you need to know as the Blue Jays start their third postseason run of the past four years.

What made the roster?
C: Alejandro Kirk, Tyler Heineman
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Brandon Belt
2B: Cavan Biggio, Davis Schneider, Santiago Espinal
SS: Bo Bichette
3B: Matt Chapman
UTIL: Whit Merrifield
OF: George Springer, Kevin Kiermaier, Daulton Varsho, Cam Eden
SP: Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, Yusei Kikuchi
RP: Jordan Romano, Jordan Hicks, Erik Swanson, Tim Mayza, Yimi García, Chad Green, Génesis Cabrera, Trevor Richards

• Blue Jays' road to the 2023 postseason

The big decisions here come down to the final bench spots. Do the Blue Jays want Eden on the bench for late-game speed? They’ve prioritized it over bench bats up until this point, and with some strong bench options otherwise, Eden should get some legitimate consideration.

On the pitching side, it’s difficult to envision any role for fifth starter Hyun Jin Ryu on this roster, but Richards’ recent struggles and the decision to DFA Jay Jackson could open an unorthodox avenue for Ryu as a reliever. Bowden Francis is another candidate for a long-relief role in the Wild Card Series. Either way, Toronto’s bullpen is very deep and should represent one of its biggest strengths in the postseason.

How have the Blue Jays fared against the Twins in 2023?
Toronto finished the regular season with a 3-3 record against Minnesota. George Springer had particular success in those six games, picking up at least one hit in each of them while posting a 1.247 OPS.

Toronto took two out of three at Target Field in May. José Berríos capped off that set with 5 2/3 scoreless innings and a win against his former team.

How will the Blue Jays’ rotation line up?
Kevin Gausman, come on down. The beauty of the Blue Jays clinching late Saturday is that Gausman no longer needed to pitch in Game 162. Instead, he gets Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, while José Berríos is set to pitch in Game 2, the Blue Jays announced late Monday. This leaves Chris Bassitt as the likely Game 3 starter, if needed, with Yusei Kikuchi as a potential bullpen option. But it all starts with Gausman.

This is Gausman’s chance to turn the tide against Minnesota. The Blue Jays won both of the games he started against the Twins this season, but those wins didn’t come easily. Minnesota has put up seven runs over 10 innings against Gausman this season, during which he's issued nine walks while striking out 12.

“The Twins, for whatever reason … yeah, [they] drive me crazy,” Gausman said in June. “For whatever reason, my whole career has been a grind against them. I’ve had some good starts, but yeah.”

What will the top of the batting order look like?
In crucial games down the stretch, manager John Schneider adjusted the lineup to bat Brandon Belt second behind George Springer, leaving Vladimir Guerrero Jr. third with Bo Bichette in the cleanup spot. The thinking? Get Bichette as many opportunities as possible with runners on base, given his ability to put the ball in play and hit for power.

That makes even more sense considering Bichette picked up seven RBIs and homered twice in the season series against the Twins.

“I like it,” Schneider said. “I think it gives us a lot of flexibility, and the more guys you can get on base for the guys in the middle, it’s a good thing.”

The bottom half of Toronto’s lineup is where you’ll see the effect of matchups more, but the top half should stay fairly consistent and the recent shift could carry over into the postseason.

Are the Blue Jays battling any injuries?
Remarkably, very few. The only injury to keep in mind this postseason is Danny Jansen, who fractured a finger on his right hand on Sept. 1. Jansen isn’t close to a return right now, and he hasn’t started to throw yet, but he could be an option down the road if the Blue Jays make a run.