The Minnesota Twins shut out the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 Wednesday at Target Field to sweep the best-of-three Wild Card series and advance in the playoffs for the first time in 21 years.
A moment 21 years in the making for the @Twins. #CLINCHED
(MLB x @BudweiserUSA) pic.twitter.com/LRSica0uJ7
— MLB (@MLB) October 4, 2023
It’s the first playoff series win for the Twins since they beat the Athletics in the ALDS in 2002. They had lost nine consecutive postseason series before sweeping the Blue Jays. They advance to play the Houston Astros in the best-of-five American League Divisional Series. Game 1 is on Saturday.
“We have a lot more to show, that’s what I can tell you about this club,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said on ESPN after the win.
The Twins scored twice in the fifth inning after the Blue Jays removed former Twins right-hander Jose Berrios. The controversial move set the stage for the Twins to load the bases and have Carlos Correa come through with a run-scoring single, which proved to be all Minnesota needed.
Toronto left eight runners on base and finished 1 for 4 with runners in scoring position, stranding multiple runners in the first, second, fifth and sixth innings. For the series, the Jays left 17 runners on and went 3 for 13 with runners in scoring position.
The Twins struck first in the fifth after Royce Lewis led off with a walk and the Blue Jays decided to pulled Berrios. They brought in left-hander Yusei Kikuchi, who gave up a single to Max Kepler and walked Donovan Solano before Correa hit a bases-loaded RBI single. Minnesota went up 2-0 when Solano scored from third on Willi Castro’s double-play grounder.
What time is it? C4 time.#WeBelieveinTC pic.twitter.com/QCjfIQG54O
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 4, 2023
Toronto threatened with two runners on in the fifth inning but Twins starter Sonny Gray picked off Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at second base to end the inning. And in the sixth the Jays loaded the bases with one out, only to have Matt Chapman ground into a double play one pitch after his liner down the left field line was foul by inches.
Matt Chapman was inches from giving the Jays the lead then he grounded into a rally-killing double play pic.twitter.com/RVCj86RBNg
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 4, 2023
Gray gave the Twins five shutout innings before giving way to the bullpen, which was outstanding for a second game in a row. Louie Varland gave up a couple of hits before Caleb Thielbar induced the key double-play to end the sixth inning.
Brock Stewart was lights out with a 1-2-3 seventh that included two strikeouts. Griffin Jax sent the Jays down in order in the eighth, including a collision with Cavan Biggio on the final out of the inning, and closer Jhoan Duran struck out the side in the ninth end the game.
