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For the second straight season, the Toronto Blue Jays are heading home in the AL Wild Card round. For a team that came into 2023 as a strong contender, disappointment likely doesn't begin to describe how the clubhouse is feeling now.
Outscored 5-1 in the two games, their defeat at the hands of the Minnesota Twins is a significant one. Carlos Correa and company have completed the team's first postseason series win since 2002 and their first-ever sweep.
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After squandering an 8-1 lead in the third AL Wild Card Game against the Seattle Mariners last season, fans are at the end of their rope. As the team posted the final score of the game on their X account, comments began to flood in almost immediately.
John Schneider, who took over as head manager midway through last season, finds himself squarely in the crosshairs. With several Toronto Blue Jays fans calling for his termination, it is becoming increasingly difficult to envision a scenario in which the 43-year-old is able to retain his position.
Despite starting AL strikeout leader Kevin Gausman in Game 1, Twins' youngster Royce Lewis went deep twice as the Minnesota Twins won 3-1. In Game 2, it was up to Jose Berrios to keep the Twins at bay.
After Berrios walked Lewis in the fourth inning, Schneider made the decision to insert Yusei Kikuchi into the game. After surrendering a hit to Max Kepler and a walk to Donovan Solano, Carlos Correa singled to put the Twins ahead by a score of 1-0. After that, a sacrifice groundout by Willi Castro put the Twins up by two.
The Toronto Blue Jays' offense, led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., was virtually invisible. Guerrero was also picked off at second base during the sixth inning, a moment that stood as a critical juncture in any hopes the Jays continued to cling to.
Where do the Toronto Blue Jays go from here?
Anytime a stellar 87-win season ends in a show of offensive incompetency, it is disappointing and frustrating. However, in the case of the Toronto Blue Jays, it is beyond confounding. A team that continuously presents itself as one of the league's premier hitting teams cannot seem to ever get it done in the postseason.
Perhaps as they watch the Twins take on the Houston Astros in the ALDS, the team will be able to have a long, hard think about appropriate next steps.
