Minnesota Twins look to break 18-game postseason losing streak
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Pablo López will pitch in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series against the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Photo: Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images
The Twins will host their first playoff game in front of fans since 2019, and they'll do so hoping to snap an MLB record 18-game postseason losing streak that dates back to 2004.
Driving the news: A three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays begins Tuesday, with all games at Target Field. The first two games will start at 3:38pm on ESPN.
Here's what you need to know:
The streak: Yes, it's a remarkable 18 games long, but 13 of those losses came against the New York Yankees, who were always heavy favorites. Playing Toronto in Minneapolis should be a more even matchup. The Twins are slight betting favorites, according to DraftKings.
The season series: Dead even, as the Twins and Jays won three times.
The history: The Twins beat Toronto in the 1991 American League Championship Series before winning the World Series.
Blue birds: Expect to see plenty of Blue Jays fans downtown. If you've ever been to a Twins-Jays game at Target Field, you know the Toronto fans travel well. That's good for local businesses, but not great for home-field advantage.
Pitchers duel: The Twins boast perhaps their best pitching rotation since the Johan Santana days of the mid-2000s. They finished with the sixth-best earned run average (ERA) and have two legit aces in Pablo López and Sonny Gray.
- The Blue Jays also have a good rotation and finished fifth in ERA.
Strikeout city: Twins and Blue Jays pitchers finished first and second respectively in MLB for the number of times they struck out opposing batters.
- Meanwhile, the Twins batters struck out more than any team in baseball history. So it could be a windy week at Target Field with all the whiffing.
Old friend returns: Former Twins pitcher — and fan favorite — José Berríos returns to Minnesota, where he is likely to start Game 2 or Game 3 for Toronto.
The biggest question mark: Royce Lewis. The rookie third baseman helped spark the Twins offense in the second half of the season but strained his hamstring 11 days ago. He is likely to play in the series but could be relegated to designated hitter.
The X-factor: The Twins bullpen struggled for stretches of the season, but could end up being one of the team's strengths in the postseason.
- The team turned North St. Paul starter Louie Varland into a reliever for the playoffs. He throws 99 mph. Brock Stewart, another flame thrower, just returned from injury.