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.
6:29 p.m.: Ding, dong, the streak is dead
Nothing lasts forever. Twins fans, say it with me: Thank heavens.
Royce Lewis had a postseason debut for the ages, Pablo Lopez pitched like an ace, and the Twins beat Toronto 3-1 in Game 1 of the wild-card series.
Lewis hit a two-run homer in the first inning and a solo blast in the third to account for the runs. Jhoan Duran issued a two-out walk in the ninth but Donovan Solano made a diving stop on a grounder to end the game.
And now the Twins' 18-game postseason losing streak is finished.
They can win a postseason series for the first time since 2002 when they send Sonny Gray to the mound on Wednesday.
This came after manager Rocco Baldelli made an interesting move in the eighth.
Rocco had Chris Paddack and Brock Stewart to bring in heat. But he sticks to the plan he's used most of the regular season and goes with Griffin Jax, who runs hot and cold.