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.
Blue Jays Nation’s Player of the Game: Kevin Kiermaier
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.
Things worth mentioning…
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.
This look at Carlos Correa's play to get Bichette is jaw dropping pic.twitter.com/88HucwqTKy
— Superdrunkmark69 (@cjzer0) October 3, 2023
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.
Royce Lewis is the third player in AL/NL history to hit homers in his first two #postseason plate appearances. 😮
(h/t @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/01jh9AaLlP
— MLB (@MLB) October 3, 2023
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.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Threads @Brennan_L_D.