MINNESOTA GRABS FIRST SERIES IN 21 SEASONS
Twins 2, Blue Jays 0
Carlos Correa endured the worst hitting season of his career after signing the richest contract in Minnesota Twins history, playing through a painful bout of plantar fasciitis in his left foot.
The defense, intelligence and leadership were always there, though. Postseason prowess was part of the package, too.
Correa had an RBI single and a quick-twitch tag on a pivotal pickoff throw from Sonny Gray, and the Twins swept the Toronto Blue Jays with a 2-0 win in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series on Wednesday.
“Everything is October. The mentality is different. I’m just giving everything out there, everything I have,” Correa said. “I’m going to keep doing that for the rest of the time that I’m here in Minnesota.”
The Twins advanced — for the first time in 21 years — to play the defending World Series champion Astros. Game 1 of the best-of-five AL Division Series is Saturday in Houston.
That’s familiar territory for Correa, who spent seven seasons with the Astros. He signed with Minnesota in 2022 and re-upped for $200 million this year after agreed-to deals with the Giants and Mets fell apart over concern about an old ankle injury.
“Superstars show up in the biggest moments,” Gray said. “Just the way he sees the game, the way he can slow it down, is a special player.”
Correa helped Houston reach three World Series, winning it all in 2017, and he’s one round into another memorable October.
“They’ve got a great team, and so do we,” Correa said. “Everywhere you look, we’re ready.”
The two-time All-Star, who went 3-for-7 with a hitby-pitch against the Blue Jays, ripped a bases-loaded single in a two-run fourth. The patient Twins delivered precisely when they needed to at the plate, and their bullpen tossed 71⁄3 scoreless innings in the series.
Jhoan Duran, after a delay to tend to a cut on his thumb following his warmup, struck out the side in the ninth to trigger a celebration around the mound.
The Blue Jays, who lost their seventh straight game in the playoffs since the AL Championship Series in 2016, left nine runners on base in each game. Matt Chapman had a line drive hook just foul before grounding into an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the sixth against Caleb Thielbar.
“One run in two games, one extra-base hit isn’t going to cut it,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.
Minnesota, after stopping a record 18-game postseason skid with the 3-1 win in Game 1, ended a nineround losing streak that started with an ALCS defeat in 2002.