<p>It’s do-or-die time.</p>
<p>On Tuesday afternoon, the Blue Jays opened their American League Wild Card Series against the Minnesota Twins, falling 3-1.</p>
<p>A not-so-fun record about this is that this is the first time the Twins have won a playoff game since 2004, breaking an 18-game losing streak.</p>
<p>Let’s take a look at the Blue Jays Nation’s Player of the Game, as well as things worth mentioning.</p>
<h2>Blue Jays Nation’s Player of the Game: Kevin Kiermaier</h2>
<p>There’s a chance that this was Kevin Kiermaier’s penultimate game as a Toronto Blue Jay.</p>
<p>Unlike many on the team, Kiermaier delivered, going 2-3 with a walk, a strikeout, and driving in the only Blue Jays run of the game.</p>
<p>This season, the 33-year-old centre fielder slashed .265/.322/.419 with eight homers in 408 plate appearances. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story as Kiermaier finished with a crazy 18 DRS and a 13 OAA.</p>
<p>He’ll be a free agent at the end of the season, so hopefully the Jays can prolong their season.</p>
<h2>Things worth mentioning…</h2>
<p>Bo Bichette was the other player of note. The 25-year-old shortstop went 2-4 and nearly scored two runs, but was thrown out at the plate. He blew by Luis Rivera’s stop sign, and was thrown out by Carlos Correa, who in reality, made a fantastic play. Had he stayed, the Blue Jays would’ve had bases loaded with Matt Chapman at the plate.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">This look at Carlos Correa&#39;s play to get Bichette is jaw dropping <a href="https://t.co/88HucwqTKy">pic.twitter.com/88HucwqTKy</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Superdrunkmark69 (@cjzer0) <a href="https://twitter.com/cjzer0/status/1709326618223587562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Matt Chapman nearly gave the Blue Jays the lead, hitting a ball 401 feet to deep centre field with two runners on and two outs. This would’ve been a home run in 13 ballparks in the majors, but alas, it’s now a “what could’ve been.&#8221;</p>
<p>Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a double on the first pitch of the eighth inning. Great, right? Well, Bichette struck out on three pitches, including a slider well outside the zone, Biggio was caught looking, and Alejandro Kirk hit a sharp ground ball to the first baseman. It really felt as if the game ended at this point.</p>
<p>Kevin Gausman didn’t have a great game, finishing with a line of 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. There’s serious speculation that he was tipping pitches, as the Twins were laying off anything down. In fact, they also did this in the regular season.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Royce Lewis is the third player in AL/NL history to hit homers in his first two <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/postseason?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#postseason</a> plate appearances. 😮</p>
<p>(h/t <a href="https://twitter.com/EliasSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EliasSports</a>) <a href="https://t.co/01jh9AaLlP">pic.twitter.com/01jh9AaLlP</a></p>
<p>&mdash; MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1709328862138564781?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 3, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>The bullpen had a good game. Erik Swanson came on in the fifth, and went 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. Tim Mayza came up next, allowed a hit, and then retired the next batter. Chad Green finished with a line of 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, before Génesis Cabrera struck out the two batters he faced. Jordan Hicks ran into some trouble, but he didn’t allow a run.</p>
<p>It’s do-or-die for the Blue Jays, as the Wild Card series is only a best of three. They’ll play Game Two on Wednesday afternoon at 4:38 PM EST. José Berríos will take the mound for the Jays, while Sonny Gray toes the rubber for Minnesota.</p>
<hr />
<p>As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.</p>
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It’s do-or-die time.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Blue Jays opened their American League Wild Card Series against the Minnesota Twins, falling 3-1.

A not-so-fun record about this is that this is the first time the Twins have won a playoff game since 2004, breaking an 18-game losing streak.

Let’s take a look at the Blue Jays Nation’s Player of the Game, as well as things worth mentioning.
<h2>Blue Jays Nation’s Player of the Game: Kevin Kiermaier</h2>
There’s a chance that this was Kevin Kiermaier’s penultimate game as a Toronto Blue Jay.

Unlike many on the team, Kiermaier delivered, going 2-3 with a walk, a strikeout, and driving in the only Blue Jays run of the game.

This season, the 33-year-old centre fielder slashed .265/.322/.419 with eight homers in 408 plate appearances. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story as Kiermaier finished with a crazy 18 DRS and a 13 OAA.

He’ll be a free agent at the end of the season, so hopefully the Jays can prolong their season.
<h2>Things worth mentioning…</h2>
Bo Bichette was the other player of note. The 25-year-old shortstop went 2-4 and nearly scored two runs, but was thrown out at the plate. He blew by Luis Rivera’s stop sign, and was thrown out by Carlos Correa, who in reality, made a fantastic play. Had he stayed, the Blue Jays would’ve had bases loaded with Matt Chapman at the plate.

https://twitter.com/cjzer0/status/1709326618223587562

Matt Chapman nearly gave the Blue Jays the lead, hitting a ball 401 feet to deep centre field with two runners on and two outs. This would’ve been a home run in 13 ballparks in the majors, but alas, it’s now a “what could’ve been."

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a double on the first pitch of the eighth inning. Great, right? Well, Bichette struck out on three pitches, including a slider well outside the zone, Biggio was caught looking, and Alejandro Kirk hit a sharp ground ball to the first baseman. It really felt as if the game ended at this point.

Kevin Gausman didn’t have a great game, finishing with a line of 4 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. There’s serious speculation that he was tipping pitches, as the Twins were laying off anything down. In fact, they also did this in the regular season.

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1709328862138564781

The bullpen had a good game. Erik Swanson came on in the fifth, and went 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K. Tim Mayza came up next, allowed a hit, and then retired the next batter. Chad Green finished with a line of 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, before Génesis Cabrera struck out the two batters he faced. Jordan Hicks ran into some trouble, but he didn’t allow a run.

It’s do-or-die for the Blue Jays, as the Wild Card series is only a best of three. They’ll play Game Two on Wednesday afternoon at 4:38 PM EST. José Berríos will take the mound for the Jays, while Sonny Gray toes the rubber for Minnesota.

<hr />

As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.

<hr />

<h2 class="mb-5 text-2xl font-bold" style="text-align: center;"><a class="text-accent" href="https://gml-grp.com/C.ashx?btag=a_24038b_2065c_&amp;affid=7966&amp;siteid=24038&amp;adid=2065&amp;c=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ARTICLE PRESENTED BY BETANO</a></h2>
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