Target Field crowd helps lead Minnesota Twins to Wildcard win

And Twins fans showed up at 1 Twins Way ready to perform an exorcism, leaving both the home and away teams stunned at the amount of energy reverberating through the 13-year-old downtown baseball stadium. Rocco Baldelli commented on the atmosphere after both wins but had extra fervor to his postgame speech following the game 2 victory.

Rocco Baldelli on the playoff atmosphere Twins fans brought to Target Field, “it’s a weapon.” pic.twitter.com/JMbWnakWD0

— Baseball Is Dead (@baseballisdead_) October 4, 2023

Rocco Baldelli called the Target Field crowd "a weapon" after Wednesday's win over the Blue Jays. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/Wv3NPXT1qZ

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) October 5, 2023

“Our crowd, it’s a weapon. It’s a weapon for us. I mean, they’re still going right now. They were going before the first pitch. The crowd just never stopped. It affects us, in a good way, it affects the other team… it’s a weapon.“

Target Field fans get assist for game-changing pickoff

Not only was the Target Field crowd a weapon that could be felt throughout the series, it made a measurable difference on Wednesday, when Sonny Gray and Carlos Correa hooked up for a 5th inning pickoff play that ended the biggest threat Toronto mounted on the night.

Related: Minnesota Twins Sweep Blue Jays in AL Wildcard; First Playoff Series Win Since 2002

Correa noticed earlier in the game that Blue Jays baserunners could not hear their 3rd base coach, because the Target Field crowd was too loud. That led to the inning-ending pickoff that will be talked about by Minnesota Twins fans forever.

Correa and Gray both confirmed after the game that Correa notified him after the first inning that the crowd was making it difficult on the baserunners and that led to the called the pickoff play in the 5th.

GOT 'EM#MNTwins | #WeBelieveinTC

🎥: @MLB pic.twitter.com/SdCtJ6LD7z

— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) October 4, 2023

Sonny Gray says Carlos Correa called the pickoff play on Vlad Guerrero Jr. He told him the Blue Jays couldn’t hear their third base coach tell “back” because #MNTwins fans were so loud. @FOX9 pic.twitter.com/9g9DwVGlQb

— Jeff Wald (@JeffWaldFox9) October 5, 2023

We all thought that the big Minnesota Twins homefield playoff advantage imploded with the Metrodome but, clearly, Target Field can have the same effect as long as fans bring it like they did during the ALWC.

The Twins will get at least two more home games next series vs the Houston Astros, in their best-of-5 series.

Related: Minnesota Twins End 18-Game Postseason Losing Streak with Victory Over Blue Jays

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Minnesota Twins come ready to play in game 2

So outside of another Jorge Polanco error at 3rd base, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they came to Target Field on Wednesday, for game 2, ready to play a clean baseball game void (mostly) of mental and physical mistakes.

Related: Minnesota Twins End 18-Game Postseason Losing Streak with Victory Over Blue Jays

The Blue Jays cannot say the same. After the loss, fans and reporters in Toronto are sure to question coaching decisions and mental mistakes at the plate and on the basepaths.

Jose Berrios lights out before questionable early hook

Both starting pitchers, Sonny Gray and Jose Berrios, were lights out during the first half of game 2, which calls into question Toronto’s decision to pull him in the 4th inning, after walking the leadoff hitter that half-inning, Royce Lewis.

José Berríos, 3Ks in the 3rd.

5Ks thru 3 pic.twitter.com/l0QDWABUXi

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 4, 2023

Sonny Gray, Wicked Sweepers. 🤢

And Messing with Timing & Sword. pic.twitter.com/bAtaZSQf6U

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 4, 2023

At the time of the walk, Berrios had pitched 3 full innings, allowing 3 hits. 1 walk and striking out 5 Twins hitters. His replacement, lefty pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, rewarded his manager’s questionable decision-making by allowing an infield hit to lefty batter Max Kepler, before walking Donovan Solano and then giving up the go-ahead base hit to Carlos Correa.

What time is it? C4 time.#WeBelieveinTC pic.twitter.com/QCjfIQG54O

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 4, 2023

Kikuchi bounced Willi Castro, who was pinch-hitting for lefty batter, Matt Wallner, into a double play. That scored one more Twins run before Jeffers made the 3rd out. The score remained 2-0 Minnesota Twins until the final out of the game, in part due to Toronto’s advanced ability of shooting themselves in the foot.

Twins take advantage of sleeping Blue Jays

One of the Blue Jay’s self-inflicted wounds, however, came with the helpful aim of postseason savvy veteran, Carlos Correa, who hooked up with Sonny Gray for a 2nd base pickoff play that ended a major Blue Jays threat in the 5th-inning.

Related: How to watch Minnesota Twins Playoff Games in 2023

Vlad Guerrero Jr was on 2B and George Springer was on 3B. Toronto’s best hitter, Bo Bichette, was at the plate. Carlos gave Sonny the wink as he walked back to the mound and both guys timed it perfectly. You know a play was on because Correa was not worried about getting back to shortstop for a pitch.

Our own version of Duck, Duck, Gray Duck.
(tag, you’re out!) pic.twitter.com/jrPLVmT5zb

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 4, 2023

Carlos Correa has shown, throughout the first two games of this postseason, just how valuable he is. Not only did he drive in one of two runs on Wednesday and rack up three hits between the two games, but he made a run-saving defensive play in game one and then called and executed that pickoff play in game two.

Minnesota Twins bullpen shows up again

The Twins bullpen came up huge again, on Wednesday evening. Converted (for now) starter, Louie Varland, got one out (strikeout) in the 6th, before needing a bailout via fellow Minnesotan, Caleb Thielbar, who surrendered an infield hit to his first batter, which loaded the bases, before Thielbar forced Matt Chapman to ground into a game-saving double play to end the inning.

Brock Stewart pitched a flawless 7th before Griffin Jax, for the second-straight night, got three outs in the 8th; the last of which he put his body on the line for. Then, after some blister and/or fingernail problems delayed the start of the 9th inning, Jhoan Duran secured the series victory with a dominant closing performance.

It’s so beautiful. 😍#WeBelieveinTC pic.twitter.com/nizbsf9xzm

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 4, 2023

With Correa and other postseason vets on this roster, the Minnesota Twins feel unflappable, which they will need vs the defending World Series champion Houston Astros, in the ALDS.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Minnesota Twins unfazed by game 1 win over Blue Jays

LaVelle E. Neal (Star Tribune) was in the Twins’ locker room after the game and that’s how he described the atmosphere while on Michael Rand’s Daily Delivery podcast Wednesday morning. They’ll let the fans have this one. Twins players have bigger things on their mind and it starts with winning one more Wildcard game.

Michael Rand: How did the Twins handle the streak being over?

LaVelle: “It was more businesslike. It wasn’t as pulsating, in the club house afterwards, as I thought it would be. Guys were getting ready, getting dressed, you know, preparing for the next day. I had the chance to talk to Pablo Lopez alone, a little bit, to kind of get his thoughts on some strategy stuff. But Duran, Paddack, Thielbar and some other guys were around and it wasn’t like they lost or won. It was just like, ‘you know what, it has to be wash, rinse, repeat here in a few hours so let’s get after it’.”

Honestly, I was already feeling good about Wednesday’s game, just given the pitching matchup between Sonny Gray and Jose Berrios, but hearing this from LaVelle pushed that confidence to another level.

Related: Minnesota Twins game today: TV schedule, channel, and more

This team feels… different and it’s because of playoff veterans like Carlos Correa

Of course, the Twins will eventually need Carlos Correa to find his inner postseason self, if they are going to make any sort of run at the World Series. But there’s no doubt he and other postseason veterans, like his former Astros teammate and current Twins catcher, Christian Vazquez, mean everything to this team’s attitude and approach during these playoffs. Not to mention, what game-winning defensive plays like this one do for a team’s confidence.

Carlos Correa recovers it and gets the Twins out of the inning! pic.twitter.com/zLHMqDPxXE

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 3, 2023

Even when the Blue Jays got runners were on base late in the game on Tuesday, there was never that feeling of existential dread that has often fallen over the Minnesota Twins fanbase.

Griffen Jax, for example, gave up a lead-off double when he entered the game in the 8th inning. He took a deep breath and followed that potential game-changing extra base hit with three of his most impressive outs of the season.

Big time effort from Griffin Jax pic.twitter.com/oWAL52TCGd

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 3, 2023

None of this guarantees the Minnesota Twins will make a run at the World Series, let alone win another playoff game this postseason. But there’s no doubt this iteration of the Twins has much less of a ‘just happy to be here’ feel to them.

Related: How to watch Minnesota Twins Playoff Games in 2023

We’ll see if that’s enough to break the next losing streak on this franchise’s radar. It was 19 years (2004) since their last playoff win. It’s been 21 years (2002) since their last series win. That can change this afternoon.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Minnesota Twins end 18-game postseason losing streak

All three runs came off of Royce Lewis homers. He hit a two run bomb in the 1st inning and followed it with a solo shot in the 3rd. His two-home run game tied an MLB record for most home runs in a playoff debut.

Welcome to the Land of 10,000 Rakes. 🎣🎣 #WeBelieveinTC pic.twitter.com/S6yZF97skG

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 3, 2023

Royce Lewis: 2nd rookie in franchise history to homer in the postseason. #WeBelieveinTC pic.twitter.com/ss8oclEm1C

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) October 3, 2023

But Lewis wasn’t the only hero of the day. The others did it with their glove. The leather was first flashed by Byron Buxton’s permanent 2023 centerfield replacement, Michael A. Taylor, who laid out superman style to rob Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk of a base hit in the top of the 2nd inning.

Glove work from Michael A. Taylor! #MNTwins #WeBelieveinTC pic.twitter.com/PFHpP88wKq

— Dustin Morse (@morsecode) October 3, 2023

Twins defense up and down in win

The Twins’ defensive brilliance didn’t end with Taylor, but it didn’t spread to the entire defense. Eddie Julien missed an easy double play attempt in the 1st inning and Jorge Polanco had two errors of his own, at 3rd base.

Related: Twins Need Postseason GOAT Carlos Correa to Show Up vs Blue Jays

Luckily, Carlos Correa was ready on Jorge’s second defensive mishap, when he made one of the better defensive plays I’ve ever seen in the postseason. Polanco charged a slow grounder that slipped right underneath his glove. Correa chased it down on the backhand and fired home, on the run, as Bo Bichette tried to go from 2nd to home on the error. Correa had other ideas, though.

Carlos Correa recovers it and gets the Twins out of the inning! pic.twitter.com/zLHMqDPxXE

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 3, 2023

Pablo Lopez turned out to be the right choice as the Minnesota Twins’ starter for game 1. He was dominant all afternoon, surrendering just 1 run, 5 hits, 2 walks and striking out 3, in 5.2 innings pitched. Jays starter, Kevin Gausman, had yet another rough outing against his MLB nemesis Twins.

He gave up 2 runs in the 1st inning and was chased from the game after just 4 innings. On Wednesday, the Twins will go for the series win and a birth in the American League Division Series. Sonny Gray will take the mound for Minnesota, former Twin Jose Berrios will be on the bump for Toronto.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Twins-Blue Jays pitching probables:

Game 1: Pablo López vs. Kevin Gausman

Game 2: Sonny Gray vs. José Berríos

Game 3: Joe Ryan vs. Chris Bassitt

That's a whole bunch of really good right-handed pitching from the rotations with the #1 and #2 ranked ERAs in the American League.

— Aaron Gleeman (@AaronGleeman) October 3, 2023

Kevin Gausman ages like a fine wine

Gausman has been a really good pitcher for most of his 11 seasons in Major League Baseball. His career 3.84 ERA, multiple All-Star appearances and $90 million in earnings tells enough of a story. But the 32-year-old veteran has only gotten better with age, throwing all three of his best seasons after the age of 30.

That’s right, all three of his All-Star appearances and Cy Young candidacies have come in the past three seasons. But that doesn’t mean he’s been good against everybody, in that time. Gausman’s career vs the Minnesota Twins, for example, has left plenty to be desired.

Related: Royce Lewis Seems Pessimistic About His Availability for Wildcard Round

Minnesota Twins mash Kevin Gausman

Toronto’s ace has started 11 games in his career vs the Twins, that’s 5th most of any team he has faced in his career. He has a 6.35 ERA and 1.500 WHIP in 56.2 innings pitched. The Twins knock Gausman out of the game early in the 5th inning, on average. That’s because they have a .816 OPS against him during his career.

What’s most interesting about Kevin Gausman’s numbers vs Minnesota, though. As mentioned earlier in this blog, Gausman’s best years of his career have been his last three. That includes 2023, where he placed 9th in Cy Young voting.

Yet, the Twins have gotten more successful against the former LSU stud, as he’s gotten better. That includes this season, when they faced him twice, posting a .290 batting average and .911 OPS. Gausman threw a total of 10 innings, surrendering 7 earned runs (6.20 ERA) and a 2.000 WHIP. He walked 9 Twins hitters and struck out just 12.

The Twins are all over Gausman this afternoon!

They’ve now scored 4 runs in just the 1st inning and they’re still threatening😳 pic.twitter.com/UxayW7ach8

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) June 11, 2023

Clean slate when the playoffs start?

Of course, these numbers could wind up meaning nothing, on Tuesday. It’s the playoffs and slates are wiped clean in the postseason, right? Sure, that’s true to an extent. But anyone who has played sports knows that there are some teams you play better against and certain places you feel best playing at.

Related: How to watch Minnesota Twins Playoff Games in 2023

And knowing that to be true, I think it is safe to say, based on his career numbers, that the Minnesota Twins are not one of the MLB teams Gausman likes playing against and Target Field isn’t one of his favorite away stadiums.

Speaking of playoffs… Gausman hasn’t had a lot of success in that area, to this point, either. Kevin’s career playoff ERA is an unimpressive 4.57 ERA (21.2 IP). His only playoff starts have come in the past two seasons. He had a 6.00 ERA in 6 innings (1 start) for the Giants in 2021 and a 6.57 ERA in his only start (5.2 IP) last postseason for the Blue Jays.

Of course, none of Gausman’s struggles in the playoffs or in the regular season vs the Minnesota Twins, hold a candle to the Twins’ 18-game losing streak or their 2-decade drought void of any playoff series wins.

We’ll find out whose past haunts more on Tuesday.

Read all of our Minnesota Twins blogs

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Twins opponent on Tuesday will be the 3rd and final Wildcard team in the American League (6-seed). Entering Sunday’s MLB regular season finale, just two teams — the Houston Astros or Toronto Blue Jays — still have a chance at landing the AL’s final seed.

Minnesota Twins Wildcard opponent — All Scenarios

The Astros are one game behind the Texas Rangers in the AL West and they are tied with the Blue Jays in the AL Wildcard race. The Astros own the AL West tiebreaker over the Rangers, but not the Wildcard tiebreaker over the Blue Jays. Hang with me. Sunday’s possible outcomes are actually pretty simple, I promise.

Related: Alex Rodriguez Will Call Minnesota Twins AL Wildcard Series

Keep it simple: The Twins 1st round playoff opponent will be the 3rd AL Wildcard team (6-seed) — If the Houston Astros lose Sunday, they will be 6-seed. That’s it, cut and dry. But, should Houston win and EITHER Toronto OR Texas lose, then the Toronto Blue Jays fall to the 6-seed.

Here are all of the possible scenarios:

The Blue Jays do not hold their own Wildcard destiny, though they can help their chances at keeping the 2nd wildcard with a victory. If both the Blue Jays and the Astros win, but Texas loses, then the Astros would jump the Rangers and be crowned AL West champs, bumping Texas down to a wildcard team, where they would hold the tiebreaker over the Blue Jays.

How we got here

The Seattle Mariners came into their regular season finale series this week vs the Texas Rangers needing a sweep to keep their playoff hopes alive. They won the first two games but lost on Saturday, extinguishing their final opportunity at the postseason.

Related: Royce Lewis Injury Could Cost Byron Buxton a Spot on Twins’ Wildcard Roster

What Minnesota Twins fans should be watching for.

Heading into the regular season finale, the Minnesota are most likely to draw the Houston Astros, but that is far from a guarantee. There’s nearly as good of a chance they land the Toronto Blue Jays, instead.

So if you are one of those Twins fans who is shaking in their boots at the thought of facing Houston in the 1st round then you need to pray they win on Sunday. Then, all you need is a Blue Jays OR Rangers loss to escape an opening round series vs the perennial World Series contenders.

Read all of our Minnesota Twins blogs

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Related: Minnesota Twins Wildcard Opponent Trending to be Astros or Blue Jays

Alex Rodriguez will call Minnesota Twins Wildcard playoff series

What we do know is that the game will air on one of three Disney networks, either ABC (KSTP – Ch. 5), ESPN or ESPN2. And on Thursday, Darren “Doogie” Wolfson (a sports reporter for KSTP) reported on SKOR North Thursday that the Twins’ broadcast crew for their Wildcard series is Michael Kay and none other than Minnesota Timberwolves minority owner, Alex Rodriguez.

“I was texting with a Twins’ higher-up last night and they’re like, ‘yeah, it just stinks, we may not know [when we play] until Sunday night.’ They’re mapping out all these scenarios, like we’re talking about right now, but they just they truly don’t know. But we did hear that Michael Kay, Alex Rodriguez [have been] assigned to the Twins [Wildcard series], so that’ll be the broadcasting crew.”

Darren Wolfson – Mackey & Judd (SKOR North)

Doogie mentions multiple times that it’s HIGHLY unlikely the Twins get a primetime timeslot for October 3. That means, they’ll either play at 12 pm, 1 pm or 3 pm CDT. The Twins finish their regular season in Colorado vs the Rockies, in a 3-game set that begins on Friday.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

So, it’s time to look forward to the postseason, which starts on October 3. Major League Baseball recently expanded their playoff bracket to include three division winners and three wildcard teams from both the American and National Leagues (12 teams total).

Minnesota Twins locked in as American League 3-seed

The two best division winners from each league, by record, get byes in the wildcard round. That means four total playoff teams (out of 12) have 1st round byes. The Twins will not be one of them, essentially locked into the American League’s 3-seed (>99%).

As AL Central winners, Minnesota sits 5 games behind the AL West leading Houston Astros, and a whopping 14.5 games back of the AL East leading Baltimore Orioles. Only two weeks remain in the MLB regular season.

Twins Wildcard opponent still TBD…

As a 3-seed, the Twins’ first round playoff opponent will be the third and final AL Wildcard team (6-seed). It’s still very much in the air who that will be, however. We know the AL East’s Baltimore Orioles or Tampa Bay Rays will be the 1-seed and the other will settle for the first wildcard spot (4-seed). The Twins won’t see either until the ALCS.

The AL West is also undecided. Unlike the AL East race, however, the West race will dictate who the Twins’ first round opponent is. Three teams (Astros, Rangers, Mariners) are within 2.5 games of each other. Whichever takes the crown will receive a 1st round bye.

Related: Royce Lewis Makes Twins Legitimate AL Pennant Contender

The two AL West teams that fall short of the division title will battle with the Toronto Blue Jays for the final two AL Wildcard spots (5 and 6 seeds). That means there are still four realistic first round opponents (Rangers, Astros, Mariners, Blue Jays) the Minnesota Twins could land. Let’s rank them both by likelihood of matchup and where they hit on the fear meter.

Twins possible wildcard opponents ranked from most likely to least likely

1. Toronto Blue Jays – The Blue Jays are the AL’s 5-seed, for now, but ESPN Analytics gives them a worse chance of making the playoffs than the Rangers, who currently trail them by .5 games in the wildcard race.
2. Texas Rangers – If the season ended after Sunday night, the Twins’ wildcard opponent would be the Rangers, who currently sit one game ahead of the Mariners for the 6th and final AL playoff seed and .5 games back of the Blue Jays for the 5-seed.
3. Seattle Mariners – The Blue Jays, Rangers and Mariners all have similar odds of landing the Twins as their first round playoff opponent, but as of Monday morning, the Mariners sit on the outside of the AL Postseason bracket.
4. Houston Astros – The Astros currently sit 2.5 games ahead in the AL West, meaning a wildcard round bye is theirs to lose. It’s hard to believe such a World Series proven team would choke under late regular season pressure. Still, this matchup is far from impossible.

Twins possible wildcard opponents ranked from most scary to least scary

1. Houston Astros – This one is obvious. The Houston Astros are one of the greatest playoff teams in modern baseball history. The Twins want nothing to do with that smoke, as they try to end an 18-game playoff losing streak.
2. Toronto Blue Jays – Any team other than Houston
3. Seattle Mariners – Any team other than Houston
4. Texas Rangers – Any team other than Houston (and the Twins had their number in the regular season)

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Yes, three wildcard teams will make the MLB Postseason in 2022, and going forward. That means 6 teams in each conference and 12 playoff teams in total. Two teams in each conference will receive a 1st-round bye and will not participate in Wildcard Weekend. That leaves the worst division winner of the three (the AL Central this season), and three wildcard teams to duke it out.

Twins’ Playoff Picture

The AL West (Astros) and AL East (Yankees) have far better records than the teams battling for AL Central superiority. That means, unless the Yankees continue to lose at the same pace they have been lately, the Twins will play on Wildcard Weekend, even if they win the division.

As of Saturday morning, the Minnesota Twins sit 1 game back of the Cleveland Guardians, in the AL Central standings. The White Sox are 3.5 games behind the division leaders. But winning the AL Central isn’t the Twins’ only opportunity to get into the postseason.

Earlier in the year, many believed the AL East was so good that they would run away with all three wildcard sports in the American League. But with 45 games remaining on the Twins schedule, they sit just 0.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the 3rd wildcard spot and just 2 games behind the Seattle Mariners for the 1st wildcard.

Wildcard Weekend explained

There are more significant changes that need to be mentioned, as it pertains to the 1st round of the upcoming playoffs. There will be two wildcard series in each conference (four total). Three wildcard teams and the worst of the three division winners. All 1st round series will be “best-of-3”. So, the first team to win two games will move onto the Divisional Round.

The other twist? All three games of each series will be played at the higher seed’s stadium. No switching locations. That means, should the Minnesota Twins win the AL Central, but miss out on a 1st round bye, they’d play all 1st round games at Target Field (vs the #3 wildcard team). The #1 wildcard will also play all of that weekend at home (vs the #2 wildcard team).

After the wildcard round, the playoff bracket looks much more familiar. Eight teams battling through the Divisional and Championship rounds, to reach the World Series. All games, from the Divisional round on will be “best-of-7”.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan