Twins 2, Blue Jays 0: Minnesota Wins First Playoff Series in 20 Years Behind Dominant Pitching

[Thiéres Rabelo]

The 2023 Twins continue to make history. After snapping an 0-18 playoff losing streak on Tuesday, Minnesota prevailed again against the Toronto Blue Jays in game two of the Wild Card series, securing their first playoff series win since 2002. They move on to face the Houston Astros in the American League Division Series starting this Saturday.

Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Sonny Gray, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (85 pitches, 53 strikes, 64.7%)
Home Runs: none
Top 3 WPA: Sonny Gray (.274), Caleb Thielbar (.124), Donovan Solano (.091)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

A day after snapping the longest playoff losing streak in North American sports history, the Minnesota Twins were looking to make history once more. If they defeated the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field this afternoon, they would win their first postseason series since 2002, when they beat the Oakland Athletics in game five of the American League Division Series.

Standing in their way today was former Twin and fan favorite José Berríos. “La Makina” never got the chance to start for Minnesota in the postseason at Target Field with fans in the stands – his sole Target Field postseason start as a Twin was in 2020, and fans weren’t allowed to attend games then. In five starts against his former club since the trade, Berríos has had a 4.03 ERA and 1.172 WHIP, having given up five home runs.

Taking the mound for Minnesota today was Cy Young Award hopeful Sonny Gray, by far the Twins’ most prolific player this season after leading the club in Wins Above Replacement (5.4 per Baseball-Reference and 5.3 per FanGraphs) and posting a 2.79 ERA in the regular season, good for third best in the majors. Neither lineup, in theory, was expected to do a lot of damage as long as those two starters were on the mound today.

But Toronto did threaten a bit early on, with two runners reaching in both, the first and the second innings, but Gray was able to put out the fire in both opportunities. He settled in nicely after the second inning, culminating in a quick, 1-2-3 top of the fourth. Meanwhile, despite allowing three hits, Berríos was sharp through three, keeping the Twins off the board, while striking out five and allowing no walks. But things would change abruptly in the home fourth.

Twins take advantage of some poor managing
Berríos completed three innings on 39 pitches, throwing nearly 72% strikes. But when Royce Lewis drew an eight-pitch walk against him to lead off the fourth, Blue Jays manager John Schneider decided to pull him and bring lefty Yusei Kikuchi into the game. It didn’t take long for Toronto to pay the price for that decision.

Max Kepler swung on the second pitch he saw and beat the throw to first. Then, pinch-hitter Donovan Solano drew a walk against Kikuchi to load them up with no outs. Carlos Correa, who had snapped an 0-for-4 skid with an infield hit in the second, collected his second hit of the game with a grounder to center, scoring Lewis from third and keeping the bases loaded. Coming into the game to hit for Matt Wallner, Willi Castro grounded into a double play that allowed Kepler to score from third, making it 2-0 Twins.

Sonny escapes another jam with a great pick-off
Toronto threatened again in the fifth when George Springer hit a one-out single, his second hit of the ballgame, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. fought hard for a seven-pitch walk. When Gray threw a wild pitch, both runners moved up, and the Blue Jays could take the lead with a swing of the bat.

But with Bichette batting, Gray made a fantastic throw to Correa at second to pick off Guerrero Jr. with a clean tag to the chest, ending the inning in style. Toronto challenged the play, but it was worthless. Sonny departed the game after the fifth, lowering his career postseason ERA to 2.39 in five starts.

Once again, the bullpen is brilliant, holding on to a slim lead
With a narrow lead, the Twins bullpen would have its work cut out for them. Again. Louie Varland took over in the sixth and struck out Bichette to lead off the inning. However, he lost the next two batters to back-to-back singles, and Rocco Baldelli decided to bring in Caleb Thielbar to get the final two outs of the inning. Thielbar got the job done, but it wasn’t easy.

Santiago Espinal hit a single on the first pitch he saw from Thielbar, and the bases were loaded with only one out. Matt Chapman stepped up to the plate, and he ripped a liner to left that pulled foul by mere inches. Then, on the next pitch, he grounded into an inning-ending double play.

After the offense came out empty-handed in the bottom of the sixth, the bullpen delivered again in the seventh. Brock Stewart took the mound to toss a 1-2-3 inning on 17 pitches, striking out two batters. Unfortunately, a cold offense couldn’t back him up in the home seventh. Going 1-for-9 with a walk since they scored in the fourth, Minnesota’s bats put together a threat by drawing two walks, but both runners were stranded.

Griffin Jax was flawless in the top of the seventh against the heart of the Blue Jays lineup, retiring Guerrero Jr., Bichette, and Cavan Biggio in order on 15 pitches. To retire Biggio, he was involved in a scary collision on the base paths, but he was okay. Correa (hit by pitch) and Castro (single) put together a threat in the bottom of the eighth, with both of them moving into scoring position, but that didn’t pan out. It was up to Jhoan Durán to close out the game in the ninth… or was it?

During some warm-up pitches, the Twins closer called the Twins training staff out to have an apparent problem on his right thumb or nail checked out. He stayed in the game, and after a pair of pitches way up, he settled in and struck out Alejandro Kirk. Espinal jumped on the first pitch for a single, but that went to waste, as Durán struck out the next two batters on six pitches. For the first time in franchise history, the Twins sweep a postseason series.

What’s Next?
The Twins move to the American League Division Series for the first time since 2019. They get ready for a rematch against the Houston Astros, who eliminated Minnesota in their most recent trip to the postseason, in the 2020 Wild Card Series. Game 1 of the series takes place this Saturday (October 7) at Minute Maid Park.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	WED	TOT
Jax	19	0	0	8	15	42
Paddack	39	0	0	0	0	39
Durán	11	0	0	14	13	38
Thielbar	9	0	0	10	4	23
Varland	0	0	0	2	17	19
Stewart	0	5	0	0	13	18
Funderburk	0	16	0	0	0	16
Pagán	15	0	0	0	0	15
Maeda	0	0	0	0	0	0

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[D.C Twins]

"We’ve got a lot more to show...that is what I can tell you about this club, Ok?!"   Rocco's post-game response with some fire in his eyes...  Now THAT has been what I've been waiting to see from him.    It got me even more fired up when I didn't think that I could be anymore fired up!

[D.C Twins]

If I was a Toronto fan, I would have LOST. MY. MIND. when they pulled Berrios.

Thank the Lord that the Analytic Obsession sabotaged the other team today!  

[Cody Schoenmann]

from 0-18 to a 2 game win streak!!!! WOOOOO

[Matt Braun]

Believe it or not, that was Caleb Thielbar's first double play all season

What a sport 

[LastOnePicked]

2-18. What's the big deal, everyone?

Totally joking. I've got chills again and tears in my eyes. Either I've got COVID or Twins playoff fever.

Love this team. Lemme scrub all my 2023 TD posts, and then I can tell you that I knew they had it in them all along.

Keep it up, boys. This is how the magic gets made, a game at a time.

[Mike Sixel]

I'd like to personally thank their manager for taking out Berrios. 

[Dantes929]

So...  Not seeing much Baldelli bashing here.    Did he make all the right moves because they were the right moves or were they the right moves because they happened to work out?    I defended him all year but I was thinking Gray could have gone one more.     Really, we were only a Phil Ruzzi bad call from losing this game.   https://www.google.com/search?q=joe+mauer+yankees+playoff+worst+call&oq=joe+mauer+yankees+playoff+worst+call+&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRirAjIHCAQQIRirAjIHCAUQIRirAjIHCAYQIRiPAjIHCAcQIRiPAtIBCDkzMDJqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:b644bcab,vid:1ClQ1H8eJ0w,st:0

[jkcarew]

I posted during the season, in the midst of Correa’s persistent offensive doldrums and the team struggling to stay over 500, that he was far from the Twin’s biggest problem.

He’s just a really good baseball player, and he knows how to win. You saw it in spades in these two games.

[SwainZag]

17 minutes ago, LastOnePicked said:

2-18. What's the big deal, everyone?

Totally joking. I've got chills again and tears in my eyes. Either I've got COVID or Twins playoff fever.

Love this team. Lemme scrub all my 2023 TD posts, and then I can tell you that I knew they had it in them all along.

Keep it up, boys. This is how the magic gets made, a game at a time.

I keep seeing 2-18..... no way!

The 18 are in the past, it's 2-0! 😄

[jorgenswest]

For me any debate about about whether the pitching pipeline has arrived is over.

[FlyingFinn]

That was some good coaching and execution on the pickoff play at 2B. Jeffers said on the radio that it was his call to make.

Edit: Gray now talking postgame. Correa told Jeffers and Gray after the 1st inning that the runners on 2B can't hear the third base coach and that the pickoff play could work at some point in the game. Great leader, smart.

[wsnydes]

This winning in October is rather enjoyable.  I'd like to have more of it!

Great series for the defense and pitching staff.  Bats need to wake up for Houston, but I think the team is playing good ball at the right time.  

Let's have some more fun!

[Sean.h]

I wonder who will pitch games 1,2 in houston? Will it be lopez/gray on 3-day rest? So glad the Twins took care of business in two games

[GNess]

The Twins out-competed a talented Blue Jays team. That takes heart and grit, which was evident in a number of big moments over the two, tense, hard-fought games.

[Schmoeman5]

Baldelli didn't really make any moves in game that affected the outcomes one way or another as far as the lineup goes. The bullpen was really good. So no complaints there. And the big bad east is 0-2 in the wildcard. Can the Twins continue to rely on 13-15 outs from the pen? That's a big ask. But the Headricks, Sands, and Winders aren't out there so maybe.  Congrats on WCS series win. Now go beat Houston.  I think they are below 500 at home. But are really good on the road. Should be a good series. 

[Lefty61]

Let the streak busting continue!  Next up Road Losses(10), Div Series losses (6)  Years since appearance in ALCS (22)  2023 Twins need a signature name, Streak Busters, Brothers in Arms....And what a series for the Bullpen!   Go get those 'Stros! 

[jorgenswest]

8 minutes ago, Sean.h said:

I wonder who will pitch games 1,2 in houston? Will it be lopez/gray on 3-day rest? So glad the Twins took care of business in two games

Lopez can go game 2 and game 5 on normal rest. 

[FlyingFinn]

Anyone else surprised the Blue Jays played the infield back with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 4th? If you get Castro (or just an out at home like I think they would have got with the infield in), you have a slower Jeffers to try for the inning ending double play and Taylor following him.

[SwainZag]

5 minutes ago, Sean.h said:

I wonder who will pitch games 1,2 in houston? Will it be lopez/gray on 3-day rest? So glad the Twins took care of business in two games

Joe Ryan Game 1, Lopez on normal rest Game 2 is my guess. 

[snotboogie]

I was in college in '87 when we beat Detroit in the ALCS.  There was a vibe.  I walked downtown and got into the Dome with thousands of others when the team came home  from beating the Tigers to celebrate. The sense of relief/excitement for the state of Minnesota is hard to describe. That was so special.

In the end, I ended up being able to go to game 7 of the '87 series.  Gaetti to Herby for the 3rd out in the 9th is etched in my brain.

I'm getting the same vibe this year.  What a special team.  With deeper starting pitching.

[wsnydes]

 

 

[USAFChief]

Been waiting a long time for this. Fantastic.

And...don't stop now boys!

[akmanak]

What a fantastic sweep. We have waited so long to see the curse broken and on the next day another bad record falls. 

 

Anything can happen and now we get bonus baseball. Go Twins!

[jkcarew]

32 minutes ago, FlyingFinn said:

Anyone else surprised the Blue Jays played the infield back with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 4th? If you get Castro (or just an out at home like I think they would have got with the infield in), you have a slower Jeffers to try for the inning ending double play and Taylor following him.

I think that early it’s more important to play against the big(er) inning…and believe a pretty decent offense can score 2 or more runs over the next 5 innings. They played double play depth up the middle against Kepler, Solano, Correa with the bases loaded, and Castro with the bases loaded. It gave them a chance to almost field Correa’s hit…and it ‘worked’ on Castro’s PA. I’m sure if Castro’s ball had been hit to 3rd, the play would have been to home. They played the sequence probably what I would have done.

Like pulling Berrios ‘too early’…everything’s moot when your team doesn’t score a run. Probably the biggest mistakes Toronto made in the series were losing the two baserunners.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

16 minutes ago, wsnydes said:

 

 

 chills, man. That's a good one.

[wsnydes]

1 minute ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

 chills, man. That's a good one.

The champagne corks popping is a fantastic effect.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Also, no surprise at all to find out Correa called that pickoff. Gray said that Correa came up to Jeffers and Gray to say the crowd so loud, the Toronto baserunners couldn't hear the coaches, and to watch for an opportunity to make that play. So actually credit the fans with that one too 🙂

[ashbury]

Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!

[snotboogie]

2 minutes ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Also, no surprise at all to find out Correa called that pickoff. Gray said that Correa came up to Jeffers and Gray to say the crowd so loud, the Toronto baserunners couldn't hear the coaches, and to watch for an opportunity to make that play. So actually credit the fans with that one too 🙂

God bless C4.