Minnesota Twins claim their first playoff series victory in 21 years on a night of MLB postseason sweeps
By Jacob Lev and George Ramsay, CNN
(CNN) — The Minnesota Twins won their first playoff series in 21 years, sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays to advance to a first American League Division Series since 2002.
The Twins won 2-0 at a sellout Target Field on Wednesday behind Sonny Gray’s gem start; he went five innings, giving up no runs and striking out six.
Both of the game’s runs were scored in the fourth inning after Carlos Correa’s RBI single gave the Twins the lead.
Tuesday’s AL Wild Card Series Game 1 win snapped an 18-game losing streak in the postseason for Minnesota, but Wednesday’s series-wrapping victory for the Twins, who restricted Toronto to just one run across the best-of-three series, was the real cause for celebration.
“It’s like everything you imagined that it feels like – it’s elation,” Twins head coach Rocco Baldelli told reporters. “I feed off of all the energy of all of our guys because our guys bring it every day on the field and they can celebrate, too.
“And that feeling, watching them go at it. I mean, it’s one of the best feelings in the world because we work our whole lives to get to moments like this, just to have a chance. And we took advantage of our chance.”
The Twins next face the defending World Series champion Houston Astros, with Game 1 of the AL Division Series scheduled for Saturday.
Minnesota’s sweet sweep turned out to be a familiar theme for the night as every team which advanced in the MLB postseason on Wednesday did so undefeated in their respective series.
The Texas Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 7-1 in the other AL Wild Card Series game, while the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-2 and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 7-1 in their NL Wild Card Series games.
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