Note to readers: Columnist La Velle E. Neal III will be updating this regularly from the Target Field press box during Tuesday’s Game 1. Follow along and comment, and keep a closer eye on the action with live pitch-by-pitch updates on our Star Tribune GameView.
3:06 p.m.: Pregame
Who’s ready for some postseason baseball? Twins fans should be as this ridiculous 18-game postseason losing streak needs to come to an end. There are Twins fans who are about to legally turn into adults who have not been around for a playoff win by the local nine.
And that streak will end — says me. Read my wild-card series prediction here.
We actually have a confluence of storylines in this first-round matchup. While the Twins have lost 18 straight postseason games, the Blue Jays have lost five straight, having last won in Game 4 of the 2016 ALCS to Cleveland. But several Blue Jays players are still sore after being swept in the AL wild card series last year by the Mariners.
There’s another narrative that can be rewritten this week. The Wolves, Wild, Vikings and Lynx all have lost in the first round of the playoffs in a calendar year. A Twins triumph would avoid a Minnesota sweep, a sweep no one wants to see. So a monkey is getting off of someone’s back this week!
Here’s a tip for watching today’s game, and all playoff games: Managers go nuts. They will activate the bullpen at the first sign of trouble, pinch hit off those pitching changes and empty their dugout too.
Rocco could use his whole bench in both these games.
As expected, Royce Lewis is on the postseason roster and is in the lineup as the designated hitter. Rocco indicated earlier today that Lewis might take it easy on the basepaths rather than risk reinjuring his left hamstring.
But the return of the charismatic Lewis is a significant development for the Twins.
“Royce is the spark plug of this team,” infielder Kyle Farmer said. “AL Rookie of the Month in September with six home runs. That shows how well our September went with him in the lineup. He kind of carried the offense.”
Enjoy the game. I’ll check in often here with observations.
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