Looking For a Playoff Do-over, the Blue Jays Fall Flat

The Blue Jays' Game 1 loss to the Twins shared striking similarities to their opening Wild Card loss to the Mariners last year.

Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

MINNEAPOLIS — All year, the Blue Jays have talked about a rewrite. A chance to change the narrative after 2022’s Wild Card collapse to the Mariners.

"I think getting back to this point is something that every guy in the clubhouse that was there last year, every staff member, myself included, that was there last year, we were really looking forward to having this opportunity," manager John Schneider said before Tuesday's game.

By making the playoffs and drawing a Wild Card matchup with the Twins, the Jays earned their do-over. But through one game, they’ve penned the same story.

After Kevin Gausman threw away another baseball in the top of the first, taunting cheers rained down on Toronto’s Game 1 starter. “Gausssssman, Gaussssssssman,” the Twins fans jeered. The opening frame was a certifiable disaster for the Blue Jays' ace. Balls thrown away, PitchCom transmitters broken, and the ultimate dagger — a screaming two-run homer by Royce Lewis to put the Twins up early.

The chants didn’t end in the first. They only grew louder when Lewis launched his second homer of the afternoon. Even as Gausman finally re-found his ace form in the fourth, the early innings and tormenting chants lingered through his final pitch. The righty lasted just four innings, allowing the only three runs Minnesota would score.

"Obviously not one of my best starts of the year," Gausman said. "Walking the lead-off hitter of the game is never how you want to start off. And looking back, obviously too many pitches thrown and too many deep counts. I made an adjustment in the third, but kind of too late at that point."

Royce Lewis hits the first home run of the #postseason! 💪 pic.twitter.com/oxer3l0tOH

— MLB (@MLB) October 3, 2023

Save for the enjoyment of the home fans, those opening innings came from the very same book as Toronto’s Game 1 fumble last season. In the 2022 edition, Alek Manoah started his postseason off with a hit batter, double, and a crowd-silencing three-run homer. The next eight innings were essentially theatre, as neither team managed much more and the contest ended 4-0.

Where 2023's Game 1 differed was the offense. This year's Game 1 wasn't instantly over after the opening frame. Toronto's first semblance of a rally came in the fourth inning, when Kevin Kiermaier snuck a grounder under Jorge Polanco’s glove for what would’ve been a base-loading hit. Instead, Bo Bichette rounded third, seeing the trickling ball, and tried for the plate. He was gunned down by four steps by Carlos Correa, snuffing out the offensive push.

"I mean, I went because I thought I was going to be safe," Bichette said.

The Jays kept pushing. The Twins kept snuffing. Kevin Kiermaier knocked Minnesota starter Pablo Lopez out of the game in the sixth with a line-drive single that plated Toronto's first and only run. With two more baserunners on in the inning, Matt Chapman launched a missile with two out. The ball hurtled toward deep center, seemingly set to flip the game on its head. Instead, the ball found glove, as Twins CF Michael A. Taylor ran back, casually leaped, and snatched the hit out of the air.

As the end drew near, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took his final shot at kickstarting something, leading the eighth inning off with a line-drive double. A big hit would've drew the Jays within a run, something magical could've tied it up. But three batters later, Minnesota rally towls launched up and the crowd roared as Alejandro Kirk grounded out to end the threat.

"Thought overall, the game, we played a good game and didn't get the breaks that we needed to," Schneider said. "And these type of games, damage is a big part of it." 

With the comebacks quickly cut short, is was those opening innings that ultimately loomed — the Lewis homers, the early runs, and the "Gausssssman" jeers. As much as the Blue Jays wanted to write a new story, they ended up with a 2022 Game 1 sequel. 

It's no secret how Toronto followed up that opening loss last year. If they want to save the season, the Blue Jays need to make their 2023 tale diverge in Game 2.

"Obviously we've got to win tomorrow," Gausman said. "Win and keep going. We've got to come in tomorrow and be ready to go."