5 October 2023
Jhoan Duran uncorked a 101 mph fastball on Wednesday night at Target Field. It whistled into the glove of Ryan Jeffers behind the plate, and the celebration was on. The drought of more than 20 years without winning a playoff series was officially over as the Twins put the finishing touches on a 2-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday night at Target Field.
The fact that it came to an end with a big strikeout from Duran was only right considering how dominant the Twins’ bullpen was over throughout the American League Wild Card Series.
As special as rookie sensation Royce Lewis and ace Pablo Lopez were in Game 1, and star shortstop Carlos Correa and ace Sonny Gray were in Game 2, everything might have played out differently for the Twins if it weren’t for their bullpen. The collection of relievers for the Twins literally did not give up a run in 7 1/3 innings of work.
“They just came in and closed the curtain on the series,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “They put a stop to everything that could have happened.”
Indeed. There was the North St. Paul product Louie Varland getting a big fly out in Game 1. There was Minnesota native Caleb Thielbar inducing a clutch double play with the bases loaded in Game 2. There was Duran blowing away batters left and right to close out both wins.
Not to mention a number of other impressive performances in between from a group that looks like it should be feared.
“Our bullpen is unbelievable,” Lewis said. “I think we’ve got a lot of guys that people don’t talk about as much.”
That’s fine every single member of the Twins’ bullpen. They are more than happy to let their pitching do the talking.
“We know that the starters are going to give us good outings every time,” Thielbar said. “We just have to go capitalize on that when they give us that lead.”
The grit of the group was personified when young reliever Griffin Jax sacrificed his body to record an out in the clincher. He fielded a dribbler in the infield with Blue Jays second baseman Cavan Biggio barreling down the base paths. The next thing Jax knew he was on the ground after getting trucked by Biggio.
“I don’t think it was anything personal,” Jax said. “I had to make a play, and by the time I got the ball, the only chance I had to get him out was to tag him.”
That’s exactly he did to set the stage for Duran. Asked anybody in the bullpen and they’ll say Duran is the best reliever in the league. It’s hard to argue watching him dominate over the past couple of days.
“He’s the best in the game,” Jax said. “We really take it upon ourselves to just to get him the ball in the ninth inning, because we know we’re going to win the game.”
Nothing was going to stop Duran from closing out a series for the Twins. Not even a small cut that opened up on his right hand while he was warming up on the mound. He got the blood cleaned up by a trainer, then promptly mowed down a few batters to start the party for the 38,518 fans in attendance.
“Lots of emotions at that time,” Duran said. “Just feels nice to give this back to the fans.”
Can the Twins keep it rolling? Perhaps.
Sometimes a playoff run can hinge on how well a bullpen performs in the biggest moments. If that’s the case, the Twins could be dangerous.
“Our confidence is through the roof,” veteran reliever Emilio Pagan said. “We believe in everybody down there. We know we’re really good. Just go out there and execute.”
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