TWINS ADVANCE

Wild Card Series Game 2:

TWINS 2

BLUE JAYS 0

In 2 days, the 2023 Minnesota Twins put to bed the 2  embarrassing streaks that have loomed over this franchise for basically my entire adult life. 

Game 1 they broke the playoff game losing streak. But as cool as that was, you really didn't want to then drop the series. It would kind of wreck the moment. The mission of game 2 was to win a playoff series for the first time since 2002. 

Mission accomplished.

The Twins swept the series by again displaying outstanding, clutch pitching against a tough lineup, and making just enough key plays at the plate and in the field.

There was no Royce Lewis show in game 2. The crowd greeted his every at bat with massive ovations, as if expecting homeruns every time now.

The pitching matchup was Sonny Gray vs Jose Berrios. And both threw up zero after zero early on. 

Gray had to work a little harder for those zeroes, as the Jays did get runners on in 4 of his 5 innings. Berrios was much more dominant. He never let a runner past first base. 

And yet still, after issuing a leadoff walk to Lewis in the 4th, the Jays manager pulled him out. Jose had to be experiencing deja vu, since the same thing happened to him as a Twin in the 2020 playoffs. Berrios wasn't in a jam. His pitch count was low. I'm glad he was pulled, but it was a stupid move. 

And the Twins immediately pounced. Max Kepler singled.  Donovan Solano walked to load the bases. Carlos Correa drove a single past the shortstop for the first run of the game. Willi Castro then grounded into a double play but that too scored a run. Two runs that I really don't think ever happen if Berrios is out there.

In the 5th, Gray was again in a jam. 1st and 2nd with 2 out. But Gray and Correa orchestrated a fantastic pickoff play at 2nd to tag out Vlad Guerrero Jr. to end the inning. 

The Jays had an even better chance in the 6th, facing the Twins bullpen. Louie Varland gave up a pair of singles. Caleb Thielbar came in and gave up an infield hit to load the bases. Then Matt Chapman laced a ball down the left field line that hit foul by maybe a foot. If that's fair, it's 2-2 at minimum, with the go ahead run at 3rd with 1 out. Instead, on the very next pitch Chapman hit into a 6-4-3 double play and the inning was over.

The Jays never had a threat again. Brock Stewart, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran closed out matters.

Perhaps it was symbolic that the sun broke through the clouds just as Duran took the mound to officially end our two decades of torment.

It really feels like a new world now. The Minnesota Twins can just be a regular franchise now, that sometimes has playoff success. Like everyone else gets to have.

We have been waiting for some Twins team to break through for so long that this feels like enough to make it a successful season already. But there will be more. Now the ALDS awaits, against Houston (who looked just a few days ago like the Twins likeliest opponent in this series). With the dual curses gone, it doesn't feel impossible that the Twins could not only make this series close but even win it.

And why not? All things feel possible again.