Twins advance in first since ’02: ‘Not done yet’
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
MINNEAPOLIS — Caleb Thielbar was 22, freshly drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers but still a devoted follower of his hometown Minnesota Twins, when the most painful memory of his baseball fandom took place: 11th inning, Game 2 of the 2009 American League Division Series, Joe Mauer lofts a fly ball down the left-field line that’s ruled foul, even though replay confirms it landed fair.
Every Twins fan seems to have a bitter moment like that; this just so happens to be Thielbar’s. Minnesota’s record-breaking, 18-game playoff losing streak spanned 19 years before it finally ended Tuesday. And the Twins’ stretch without winning a playoff round spanned even longer, 21 years, all the way back to 2002 — until they finally vanquished it Wednesday, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 to sweep their wild-card series and advance to an ALDS matchup against the dominant Houston Astros.
Few savored it more than Thielbar, now a high-leverage reliever on a scrappy, dangerous Twins team that is already historic.
“It’s hard to fathom how many times you get to the playoffs, and then you’re swept and you’re out,” said Thielbar, a product of neighboring South Dakota. “It’s hard to realize how quick that happens. Whatever our playoff run ends up being — to have a little bit of an extended run, I know it means a lot to the people out there. It means a lot to us in here, too, to be a part of the team that ends that streak. A lot of the guys in here throughout the week were talking about it — that we wanted to be the team that ends it. That was kind of a chip on our shoulder for us going into this postseason.”
The Twins’ pitching staff — led by Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray, the two frontline starting pitchers who did most of the heavy lifting this season — held the Blue Jays to only one run in 18 innings, letting what little production their offense could muster hold up. In Game 1, it was Royce Lewis returning from a hamstring injury in time to belt two home runs. In Game 2, it was a brief fourth-inning rally — triggered by the surprising exit of Jose Berrios — that proved to be the difference. And all throughout, these Twins — some young, many of them unheralded — continually executed on the little things that mattered.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was inspired by it in his postgame speech, in the middle of a home clubhouse ready to explode in champagne and beer, when he went around the room and pointed to every contributor he could find.
Moment after moment after moment after moment — came through, came through, came through, came through.
Nobody came through like Carlos Correa, the star shortstop who spent most of the year hampered by plantar fasciitis but has long brought his best for stages like these. In Game 1, he retrieved a slow roller that trickled away and made an off-balance throw home to nail the speedy Bo Bichette, turning in a play that Baldelli believes “we will see forever.” In Game 2, he executed a pickoff of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at second base with Toronto threatening, once again swinging the momentum of the game with one play.
Correa found Gray after the first inning and informed him that the Blue Jays’ baserunners couldn’t hear their third-base coach yelling “back!” because the Target Field crowd was so loud.
“He’s like, ‘The timing pick is going to be there,'” Gray recalled. “‘It’s going to be there.'”
The Twins held a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth, but the Blue Jays had runners on second and third with two outs and Bichette up to bat. When the count ran full, Correa gave the signal to a coach in the Twins’ dugout, who relayed it to Gray’s PitchCom headset.
Timing pick, second base.
Gray executed the pickoff perfectly, then returned to the dugout and was shocked to find out it had been put on by Correa.
Said Correa: “I felt it was the right spot to do it.”
“For me, it was just about executing the play,” Gray said. “But for him to have that awareness is what makes him special.”
The Blue Jays, with a decorated lineup that underperformed throughout the year, rallied often but barely came through. Their 15 hits was the most ever by a team to score one run or fewer in its first two postseason games, according to research by ESPN Stats & Info. This year’s Tampa Bay Rays held the record for only a couple of hours.
Maybe it was meant to be.
Lopez wore Johan Santana’s jersey prior to his Game 1 start, then became the first Twins pitcher to win a postseason game since Santana, who just so happens to be his boyhood idol. Afterwards, he alluded to the possibility of fate being at play. The following afternoon provided a different example, one that harkened back to the Mauer foul ball that still haunts Twins fans everywhere.
This time, the opposite occurred.
The bases were loaded with Blue Jays with only one out in the sixth inning and Louie Varland, another lifelong Twins fan, on the mound. Matt Chapman hit a line drive down the left-field line that would have at least tied the score. Instead, it drifted slightly, landing mere inches to the left of the chalk for a foul ball. On the next pitch, he bounced into the 6-4-3 double play that ended the threat. For the first time in a long time, the Twins had the October luck they needed on their side.
“It was a long time coming,” said LaTroy Hawkins, the former Twins reliever who was on the 2002 team that last won a postseason round and now works within the front office. “I’m just excited for this group. This is a different team now. This team is built around pitching, and as we know, pitching wins championships — pitching and defense. I’m just excited to see what the future holds. They’re not done yet.”
After a two-game opening night, the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs continue Sunday with a trio of Game 1s:
Which teams will earn the early edge in their series? Who are the key players to watch?
Read on for game previews, recaps of what went down last night, and the Three Stars of the Night from Arda Öcal.
Matchup notes
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes
Game 1 | 3 p.m. ET, ESPN
These two teams split the regular-season series with two wins apiece; notably, all four of those games were played before Devils star Jack Hughes sustained a season-ending injury. The Hurricanes were led in scoring this season by Finland native Sebastian Aho (29 goals, 45 assists), while Sweden’s Jesper Bratt was the Devils’ leading scorer (21 goals, 67 assists). The two teams’ most recent postseason clash occurred in 2023, which the Canes won 4-1.
Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs
Game 1 | 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
The opening skirmish in the Battle of Ontario is the first postseason appearance for the Senators since 2017 — and the first ever for Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk. On the other side, this will be the Maple Leafs’ ninth consecutive playoff appearance — with just one series win to show for it. Toronto has had its scoring prowess vanish in past postseasons, so leading scorer Mitch Marner (27 goals, 75 assists) & Co. will hope to reverse that trend. And while Toronto is the favorite in the series, Ottawa won all three regular-season games between the teams.
Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights
Game 1 | 10 p.m. ET, ESPN
Sunday’s nightcap sees the wild-card Wild face one of the more complete teams in the West. Newly signed Minnesota defenseman Zeev Buium — fresh off a run to the NCAA Frozen Four final with the University of Denver — didn’t see action in the regular-season finale; how much will he be deployed in this series? The Knights will come at the Wild in waves, led by center Jack Eichel, who earned some Hart Trophy votes in the final edition of ESPN’s NHL Awards Watch. Vegas won all three regular-season games between the two clubs, by an aggregate score of 12-4.
Arda’s Three Stars of Saturday
A goal and two assists for Connor, who kept the Jets’ offense soaring in a game that set the tone for Winnipeg in this series — including a third period comeback. This team is still motivated by a five-game first-round exit last postseason, and they also want to keep the Presidents’ Trophy vibes going.
One of the best players of the game, and he showed up Saturday. Three points in Game 1 (on the road, no less), including the eventual game-winning goal and an empty-netter to help the Avalanche take the early lead in the series.
The chemistry between Scheifele and Connor was on display. The center finished with three points in Game 1, including a great play to get Connor the puck late in the third period on the game-winning goal.
Saturday’s results
Winnipeg Jets 5, St. Louis Blues 3
Jets lead series 1-0
A furious first period included a pair of goals for both teams, as the clubs elected to throw haymakers at the start of the series instead of patiently reading their opponents. The Blues carried a 3-2 lead into the third after a second-period tally from Jordan Kyrou, but the Jets took over the third — first with the momentum in front of a “White Out” crowd, and then with a trio of goals. Alex Iafallo had the game-tying score at 9:18 of the third, followed by the game-winner by Kyle Connor with 1:36 left and an empty-net goal by Adam Lowry to put the game away.
1:30
Jets score 5 goals in a thrilling Game 1 win over the Blues
The Jets best the Blues 5-3 in Game 1 of their playoff series.
Colorado Avalanche 5, Dallas Stars 2
Avs lead series 1-0
Unlike Saturday’s earlier game, these two contenders started with a 0-0 first period. But from the second period onward, it was all Avalanche. Artturi Lehkonen opened the scoring with one of the most unique goals in memory, with the puck going in off of his skate and over Jake Oettinger‘s shoulder — the play was ruled a good goal upon review. Nathan MacKinnon added a power-play tally after Roope Hintz high-sticked him to push it to 2-0 and the Avs never looked back. Although Hintz scored a power-play goal of his own in the third, the Avs got goals from Devon Toews, an empty-netter from MacKinnon and a final tally from Charlie Coyle.
2:01
Avs make easy work of Stars in dominant Game 1 win
The Avalanche put five goals past the Stars to take a 1-0 series lead in dominant fashion.
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