Royce Lewis homered in his first two at-bats to lead the Minnesota Twins past the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 1 of their 2023 American League Wild Card Series at Target Field.
Lewis was questionable to even make Minnesota's playoff roster after battling a hamstring strain during the regular season but felt a burst of confidence at his inclusion.
His two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning off of Toronto starter Kevin Gausman gave the Twins a lead they would never relinquish on their way to a 3-1 victory.
The Toronto right-hander only threw four innings, his second-shortest start of the season, allowing three runs, three hits, and three walks.
A fastball that missed by three and a half feet is what haunted Gausman throughout the outing as well as asking for a new ball early and having difficulty with PitchCom.
"Good hitters are going to make you pay for that", he said. "Obviously he's hitting in the '3' hole for a reason."
Lewis, Lopez lead Twins past Blue Jays to end 18-game losing streak
Pablo Lopez had a strong postseason debut for Minnesota, allowing one run and five hits in 5 2/3 innings.
"Sometimes things line up too perfectly to pass up on those opportunities", he said.
"It was a blessing to play today. That atmosphere was electric", said Lewis, who added a solo shot in the third to become just the third player in postseason history to go deep in his first two at-bats.
The Twins also played outstanding defense, Michael A. Taylor making a diving catch of Alejandro Kirk's line drive in the second and a leaping grab in the sixth to take an extra-base hit away from Matt Chapman.
Max Kepler crashed against the same padded wall in the fourth to reel in Vladimir Guerrero's line drive.
Later in that inning, Kiermaier's two-out roller got by third baseman Jorge Polanco as Bichette rounded for home with two outs. Carlos Correa backed him up from shortstop and threw a strike to the plate to end the inning.
"Once I saw Bo look at the ball, I knew he had intentions", Correa said. "I could see in his eyes."
Toronto got on the board in the top of the sixth as Kevin Kiermaier singled in Bo Bichette with two outs but they left nine runners on base.
Jhon Duran pitched a hitless ninth to pick up the save and officially end the longest losing streak in North American professional sports, having lost 18 consecutive playoff games.
"That was my team growing up. It's still my team", said reliever Caleb Thielbar, a Minnesota native who threw a scoreless seventh. "I know how people feel, and I know what weight was lifted off everyone's backs today."
It was the first home win for the Twins in the playoffs since Game 1 of the 2002 ALCS at the Metrodome, Minnesota's former home.
"You don't want to say like an over sense of urgency, but these guys know it's going to take everybody to get to Game 3", said Blue Jays manager John Schneider.
Berrios, Gary to square off in Game 2
Former Twin Jose Berrios will get the call as he tries to keep Toronto's season alive. The righthander went 11-12 with a 3.65 ERA during the regular season and pitched five and a half years in Minnesota.
"I love pitching in this ballpark because the dugout is so close, so I look like I throw 100", he said.
Sonny Gray will attempt to close the Blue Jays out in his first playoff start since Game 4 of the 2017 ALDS when he was a member of the New York Yankees.
Gray went 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA this season.