Twins 3, Blue Jays 1: National Nightmare Over; Lewis, Lopez and Defense Deliver Playoff Win

[BH67]

Two weeks ago I wrote that these Twins have emerged in September as a perfect example of Bud Grant's second Vikings team in 1968. Disciplined, tenacious, confident, and getting better quickly. That applies even more so after Game 1. This is the most mentally prepared Twins team since Tom Kelly left the dugout. That speaks well not only for this postseason.

[Linus]

1 hour ago, FlyingFinn said:

So you're benching Julien on Wednesday? Not me until we are ahead in the 7th.

Go ahead and re- read my post and tell me where I said I would bench him. Basically he and Polo were not good in the field but everyone was bitching about Polo. If Royce can’t go I definitely would put Farmer at third Polo at second and DH Julien. 

[SteveLV]

On the curious play by Julien to throw to 1st instead of taking the lead runner, does anyone else think he thought there were two outs?  The expression on his face after the play suggested to me that he hung his head because he realized there was only one out, not two.  I wonder if anyone asked him about that play afterwards?

[UK Twin]

The streak is over! And now interestingly the Blue Jays have lost 7 straight play off games - hopefully we make it 8! Defense was incredible apart from the 1st play of the game. Taylor's catch at the wall was the most important play but goodness me that play from Correa was sensational. I'm not sure anyone else in MLB would have made that play. The awareness, agility and arm strength he displayed was incredible. I'm in awe at how he picked that ball up barehanded and managed a perfect throw to Jeffers. 

Say what you like about his disappointing year with the bat but his defense hasn't suffered at all. 

There's almost a swagger about Lewis now. His confidence is sky high and we are seeing exactly why Twins made him a number 1 draft pick. Lopez completely unfazed about taking the ball in game 1 - really good from him. Hopefully Sonny follows suit. 

[SoDakTwinsFan4]

Observations: 

WAS AWESOME!

A-Rod (and others) insinuating Gausman was tipping his splitter. I disagree. The splitters were missing way too easy up until his last inning. 

Very encouraging to see our guys string together 3-4 good at bats in the 8th.

Yet another Baldelli head scratching decision.  Lopez to Varland? Man, Baldelli dodged a bullet. Maybe I'm missing something?

 

[Fat Calvin]

7 hours ago, Aerodeliria said:

Nice! We could watch the game here in Japan. Hats off to Baldelli. I thought he managed the game very well. I thought if there was going to be a hitting hero, it would be Jeffers, but what a nice surprise that it was Lewis. That guy just keeps overperforming. Oh, and thanks for mentioning defense Mr. Trefz because that is what won this game as much as any pitching and hitting. Correa's throw to the plate was tremendous, and Donny Barrels of all people with the great stop on Springer. It's a relief, and I think we can actually beat Toronto.

It was on TV here in Japan?  Regular TV?  How about tomorrow?

 

[pierre75275]

2 hours ago, Linus said:

Go ahead and re- read my post and tell me where I said I would bench him. Basically he and Polo were not good in the field but everyone was bitching about Polo. If Royce can’t go I definitely would put Farmer at third Polo at second and DH Julien. 

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by pierre75275

[madtowntwin]

"Reverse The Curse." Win Twins!!

[Doctor Wu]

I woke up this morning (in Thailand, in a different time zone), turned on my PC and checked the news, just hoping ... and yes, a Twins victory in the playoffs. Reading the game roundup and the quotes, man, I honestly had tears in my eyes. What a wonderful feeling to see my team win again. But let's not stop! More wins await this club. 

[old nurse]

It is about time Lopez and Lewis made up for the other 18 games that were lost

[William K Johnson]

Not sure if anyone else has commented on this, but being the devil's advocate that I am, it is serious crunch time and that calls for Polanco to second and the Castro/Farmer combo at third until or if Lewis can return there.    Mr. Called Strike three totally misplayed the Chapman line drive and Polanco looked awful at third.    If not for an incredible play by CC4, this game might have gone in another direction.

[Eephus]

10 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Thanks to Correa, Polanco’s failure to field Kiermaier’s chopper in the 4th was a HUGE break for the Twins…

if Polanco successfully fields that ball, no out is recorded on the play. Zero chance of getting Kiermaier there. None. Best case, Polanco eats it…Bases are loaded with Chapman in the box.

Weird how things work out sometime.

 

If Correa had actually been backing up Polanco on the play, there's no out either. In the post game, dazzleman said Correa was already headed over to backup, but if you watch the replay Correa is standing by 2nd base when the ball is missed by Polanco. Great athletic play though, wow.

[Riverbrian]

10 hours ago, Althebum82 said:

Clearly Lewis needs to stay in the DH slot.  3B for him is too risky.

Polanco was a logical candidate to try at 3B, but let's instead switch to Farmer, Solano, or Castro for game 2 to address the obvious weakness of the logic.

Polanco will still find a way to make an important contribution to this team's success, one way or another.

 

 

Polanco out? 

Or Polanco to 2B and Julien out? 

Or Polanco to 2B and Julien to 1B and Kirilloff out? 

Or Polanco to 2B and Julien to 1B and Kirilloff to LF and Wallner out? 

What is the plan?

[Doctor Wu]

10 hours ago, darwin22 said:

and finally...the lineup against Bassitt:

Bassitt has been excellent over the last 2 months, but he DID give up 7 ER over 4 IP in his only start against the Twins on May 27th.

maybe I'm reading this wrong, but isn't Berrios starting for Toronto tomorrow?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

15 minutes ago, Eephus said:

If Correa had actually been backing up Polanco on the play, there's no out either. In the post game, dazzleman said Correa was already headed over to backup, but if you watch the replay Correa is standing by 2nd base when the ball is missed by Polanco. Great athletic play though, wow.

Great point. It was a heck of a play by Correa and I think most shortstops have that instinct, but not all. And if Correa wasn’t playing over by second to start with, to compensate for Julien, it might not happen. And Jeffers finishing it. Super cool play. 

[chinmusic]

Just want to mention that Rocco is more self assured now than he was as a rookie manager in 2019.

I don't know how much a manager really impacts the game, but for what it's worth, I do not get that sense of self-confidence from John Schneider.

[Doctor Wu]

Was that Nick Gordon I saw in the dugout? If nothing else, he'll make for a great cheerleader during the playoffs!

[terrydactyls]

48 minutes ago, William K Johnson said:

Not sure if anyone else has commented on this, but being the devil's advocate that I am, it is serious crunch time and that calls for Polanco to second and the Castro/Farmer combo at third until or if Lewis can return there.    Mr. Called Strike three totally misplayed the Chapman line drive and Polanco looked awful at third.    If not for an incredible play by CC4, this game might have gone in another direction.

Because Julien has such a good eye at the plate, he often gets a called third strike on pitches that miss the strike zone - as was the case last night.  As soon as the ball hit the catcher's glove, I called "ball four" only to be overruled by the umpire.  Bad call by him.

[UK Twin]

2 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

Because Julien has such a good eye at the plate, he often gets a called third strike on pitches that miss the strike zone - as was the case last night.  As soon as the ball hit the catcher's glove, I called "ball four" only to be overruled by the umpire.  Bad call by him.

The HP umpire was all over the place last night. Called pitches both below and above the zone strikes at different times. 

[Trov]

There were several moments where in past seasons it would have not gone our way.  The error in first would have just unraveled us and led to at least a couple of runs off the bat, but Lopez stepped up.  Then the play CC made after Polo, who needs to not play 3rd.  Either play him 2nd or bench him because his defense there is about as good as having a card board cut out. In years past that would have scored a run instead of getting the out at the plate and ending the inning. 

Finally, the catch by Taylor up against the wall.  He jumped and really did not need to.  In past years all three of those would have led the team to unravel and lose the game.  But, this year we made the plays that needed to be made in those spots.  

The lack of anyone doing anything on offense other than Lewis is a concern, but it was only 1 game and hopefully others will step up.  We had a few chances to get that big hit to blow the game open and did not do it, but Toronto had many chances to get back in it, and they did not either.  

I am happy our pen is really all available and we got 1 game up.  I do not want to see a game 3, but we are in driver seat and Toronto is on heels.  Nice place to see for once. I could see, similar to game 1, a quick hook of Berrios if he is not dominate.  They may go full pen after that, or if early enough I could see them go to Kikuchi, a lefty, for some innings.  

[DJL44]

8 hours ago, jimbo92107 said:

1. Carlos Correa's backup of Polo's goof was on the same level as the one by Yankees SS Derek Jeter. Nobody practices such things.

I guarantee Correa practices making plays just like that one (field barehanded and throw home). My daughter practiced plays like that in high school.

[Linus]

32 minutes ago, Bigfork Twins Guy said:

When I saw it I did not think he thought that there were 2 outs.  What I thought was that he did not want to chance trying for the lead runner and not getting him thereby leading to a big inning with a small lead.  How many times have we seen a throw to 2B NOT get the lead runner and the inning explode?  Sometimes the sure out is the best out.

Except the runner was barely half way to second. He’s a nervous fielder and it will probably really show in the playoffs where the pressure is off the charts. At least he got one which gave Pablo a chance but it’s one of the small plays that can cost you games. 

[Whitey333]

Great win Twins!!  It was fun again.  I guess being (im)patient is worth it.  Just like buying tickets yesterday.  I was able to purchase online a nosebleed seat for under $10.  Yes and I just walked the concourse and watched.  I never sat in those seats.  Ticket sales were not that great and the price dropped a lot.  Especially the resale market.  I'm sure after the win prices would be back to normal today.  Awesome win Twins!!  Let's fi ish off the Blue Jays today.  Go Twins

[jmlease1]

I'm surprised people are so ready to toss Polanco over the side. Once he got back into the lineup, he's been a key contributor for the Twins from August on, and an important part of their improved offense and success in locking down the division. He's also been a leader and team player and his switch-hitting makes the lineup more dangerous.

Yes, Willi Castro is a better 3B defensively and so is Farmer, but Polanco is a far better hitter than either. Castro is a weapon to have off the bench and his versatility allows him to be deployed anywhere, including the OF, reducing the number of changes that need to be made if you bring him in. Doesn't work as well with Polanco.

If Toronto wants to try to take advantage of Polanco's occasionally wobbly defense at 3B by slapping the ball into the ground, I'm all for it. This isn't the NBA or NFL when you can design your offense to target another team's worst defender (which still might be Julien, BTW) and exploit them. Or does anyone really think Toronto is going to light us up by bunting at Polanco all day?

It was a great win, and it's so nice to finally be done with the losing streak. Here's hoping Sonny Gray makes Toronto hitters look silly today!

[TouchEmAllGuy]

As a 28 year old... my Twins fandom has consisted of losing (mostly) in the playoffs. Was great to be in the stands yesterday to experience a win! The atmosphere at Target Field was electric. If you are able, I highly recommend getting to a game. Lets get another!!

[Althebum82]

2 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

Polanco out? 

Or Polanco to 2B and Julien out? 

Or Polanco to 2B and Julien to 1B and Kirilloff out? 

Or Polanco to 2B and Julien to 1B and Kirilloff to LF and Wallner out? 

What is the plan?

No, only Polanco on the bench in favor of one of the other three.

[SockNet]

Lewis won't see another good pitch for the rest of the series. I say Castro to 3b, Polonco to 2b, Julien DH. Use Lewis as the big bat of the bench.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

7 minutes ago, SockNet said:

Lewis won't see another good pitch for the rest of the series. I say Castro to 3b, Polonco to 2b, Julien DH. Use Lewis as the big bat of the bench.

I think that would be Juliens best role for this postseason is bat off the bench (pinch hitter) — nothing wrong with that. 

[2wins87]

2 hours ago, Eephus said:

If Correa had actually been backing up Polanco on the play, there's no out either. In the post game, dazzleman said Correa was already headed over to backup, but if you watch the replay Correa is standing by 2nd base when the ball is missed by Polanco. Great athletic play though, wow.

I've watched the replay a few times, and Correa starts directly behind second then does start toward third before letting up to hang around second when Polanco looks like he's going to field the ball.  Correa is still watching the play though and breaks for the ball as soon as it gets under Polanco's glove.

He was in no position to back up the play at the start, he could have done a little more to get closer before Polanco missed it, but it was going to be a long run either way.  If he'd been charging toward third the whole play it could have been a little different, but I thought his movement while the play developed was pretty normal for the situation, and he was able to make the play because he was paying attention and reacted quickly.  Good positioning and tag by Jeffers too.

Bichette could have run a little harder into third.  It was a bit aggressive by the 3B coach to send him, but I think most 3B coaches would have done the same there to try to get the run. 

[jorgenswest]

2 hours ago, Eephus said:

If Correa had actually been backing up Polanco on the play, there's no out either. In the post game, dazzleman said Correa was already headed over to backup, but if you watch the replay Correa is standing by 2nd base when the ball is missed by Polanco. Great athletic play though, wow.

Left handed batter. Correa shifted to just behind second base and Julien playing towards first. With that alignment, I think Correa’s responsibility with a ball hit to towards third is to take the throw at second base. He is much closer to the bag. He made an amazing play with his instinct and talent.