The news that Royce Lewis would be playing in the AL Wild Card Series for Minnesota gave him a boost of confidence and put an end to any doubts he had about his hamstring injury.
Putting on a vintage jersey of his childhood favorite Johan Santana, who also happened to be the last Twins pitcher to win a game in the playoffs, Pablo López found inspiration in his wardrobe.
The Twins and their supporters benefited from the enthusiasm, ultimately ending their record-breaking 18-game postseason losing streak.
In the first game of their AL Wild Card Series on Tuesday, Lewis broke the streak by homering in each of his first two at-bats to lead the Twins to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.
“It was a blessing to play today. That atmosphere was electric,” said Lewis, whose two-run shot off Kevin Gausman in the first inning and leadoff drive in the third sent the sellout crowd into a frenzy.
A few hours later, Jhoan Duran pitched a hitless ninth to seal the Twins’ first playoff victory since October 5, 2004, and end the worst postseason losing streak in the history of major North American professional sports.
“This was my team growing up. It’s still my team,” said Caleb Thielbar, a Minnesota native who pitched a perfect seventh. “I know how people feel, and I know what weight was lifted off everyone’s backs today.”
The Twins have not triumphed at home in the postseason since Game 1 of the 2002 ALCS in the Metrodome. Lewis was 3 years old at the time. With five grand slams in 70 career games, he is the kind of star player who could take the Twins further than simply hoisting the division banner and departing the celebration after three or four days.
“I thought the place was going to split open and melt, honestly,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It was out of this universe out there on the field. The fans took over the game. They helped us win today.”
For Minnesota, López made a great playoff debut as well, allowing just one run and five hits across five and a third innings. He gave a performance that was reminiscent of his fellow Venezuelan after sporting his Santana jersey to the ballpark.
Wednesday afternoon is when the second game will be played. Target Field is the site of the whole series.
Bo Bichette was finally brought in by Kevin Kiermaier’s two-out single for the Blue Jays in the sixth inning, but nine runners were left on base.
Since they hadn’t had playoff success since the 2016 ALCS, the Blue Jays brought their own October woes into this series. They selected Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., two team pillars and the renowned offspring of previous major leaguers, as wild cards in 2020 and 2022.
