GAUSMAN STRUGGLES AS JAYS LOSE GAME ONE, FACE ELIMINATION
2023-10-04 · 2 min read · MLB/Baseball
Smiley Pool/Rangers Photographer | Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
Maybe pitches were tipped. Or maybe it was the baseballs. Or maybe it was the pressure to notch a playoff win under Atkins and Shapiro. Or maybe the Minnesota Twins really are just that good at laying off splitters.
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Whatever the case, Toronto has little time to stew about their misfortunes - Royce Lewis, in his return from injury, launched a two-run shot and a solo bomb in his first two postseason at-bats, and that’s all Minnesota needed. Kevin Kiermaier drove in a run on an RBI single in the sixth, but that was it. 3-1 Minnesota, Jhoan Duran picking up the save, and now it all rests on the shoulders of the Twins’ ex-ace Jose Berrios.
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A game of failing to hit with runners in scoring position, questionable baserunning from Bo Bichette, and two unfortunately placed pitches from Kevin Gausman acted as Toronto’s downfall in Game 1. A must-win elimination game for the Blue Jays will now take place on Wednesday, as Minnesota turns to Sonny Gray in hopes of closing out the series after two games.
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Following Gausman, Manager John Schneider turned to Erik Swanson, Tim Mayza, Chad Green, Genesis Cabrera, and Jordan Hicks to finish the game - with all five relievers allowing no runs over four innings. Following Game 1, Schneider mentioned that everybody - including Yusei Kikuchi and Chris Bassitt - are available for Game 2, minus Kevin Gausman. To state the obvious, a Chris Bassitt appearance in Wednesday’s game would mean that things…aren’t going well.
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Finishing the regular season 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA, Twins’ Sonny Gray had a terrific year. Putting himself in the conversation for AL Cy Young, Gray had only one start against Toronto this season - a 5 inning performance in June, allowing just a single run on five hits. Likewise with Gray, Berrios only faced his former club once this past year in which he shut them out over 5 ⅔ innings. Both sides are looking for some length out of their starters, as nine relievers combined were used between both sides in Game 1.
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In other Game 1 action, the Texas Rangers defeated Tampa Bay 4-0 behind seven strong innings from lefty Jordan Montgomery. Arizona, thanks to home runs from Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, and Gabriel Moreno, as well as a two-run double in the ninth by Christian Walker, upset Corbin Burnes and the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3. Zac Gallen will face Freddy Peralta in Game 2. Philadelphia took care of Miami 4-1 as well, with Zack Wheeler pitching into the seventh inning.
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Today’s Minnesota Twins victory was their first since 2004, snapping an eighteen-game playoff losing streak. On the flip side, Toronto’s loss propels their playoff record to 0-5 in the Ross Atkins/Mark Shapiro era, halfway to the team’s third two-and-out Wild Card series loss.
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By: Gus Cousins
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