Fans Rip Vlad Jr., Blue Jays, Celebrate Twins Ending 21-Year MLB Playoff Drought

The Minnesota Twins have won a playoff matchup for the first time since 2002 after capping a two-game sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays with a 2-0 victory to end their American League Wild Card Series.

A dramatic game went down in Minneapolis' Target Field despite the fact that neither team scored outside the bottom of the fourth inning.

On the winning side, the Twins' stellar pitching and defense took centerstage once again en route to leading Minnesota to playoff success.

Minnesota scratched out two runs in the fourth off two walks, two singles and a groundout, and that was all the team needed thanks to starter Sonny Gray (five shutout frames, six strikeouts) and the efforts of five Twins relievers.

On the losing side, the Jays' season ends in bitter disappointment after the team scored just one run in two games.

Game 2 was particularly painful for three reasons.

First, an important (and later costly) decision took place in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Jays right-handed starting pitcher Jose Berrios, who cruised through three shutout frames while striking out five, led off the fourth with a walk to Twins superstar Royce Lewis.

Jays manager John Schneider then pulled Berrios after just 47 pitches to bring in left-handed Yusei Kikuchi. Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com explained the move.

However, Kikuchi proceeded to give up an infield single, a walk and then a Carlos Correa RBI single to center.

Another run scored after a double play with the bases loaded.

Ultimately, that move backfired, but the Jays still held the Twins to two runs for the game. The bigger problem was at the dish and on the basepaths.

Simply put, Toronto didn't take advantage of its opportunities, specifically in the fifth and sixth innings.

In the fifth, Toronto had Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on second and George Springer on third with cleanup hitter Bo Bichette at the dish with two outs. However, Sonny Gray caught Guerrero well off second base, and he picked the slugger off to end the frame.

In the sixth inning, Matt Chapman got up with one out and the bases loaded. He lined a pitch down the left field line, but it strayed just foul. On the next pitch, Chapman grounded into a double play, ending the inning.

Overall, the Jays left 10 runners on base through the first six innings, including two apiece in the first, second and fifth and three in the sixth.

Fans and analysts provided strong reactions in particular to Gray's pickoff of Guerrero as well as the decision to remove Berrios, which could have possibly been a move made in conjunction with the front office.

The Guerrero pickoff was particularly damaging, though, especially with the Jays' best hitter in Bo Bichette at the dish as the winning run at the time.

On the flip side, the Berrios decision appeared to take any wind out of the Jays' sails. They were going back-and-forth with the Twins at that point, and the move appeared to put momentum back into Minnesota's hands.

Former Jays superstar outfielder Vernon Wells provided his opinion on the matter.

Other did as well, including ex-Toronto skipper Buck Martinez.

In the end, though, the Twins' fantastic showing should be celebrated. They broke a two-decade playoff slump and look like a tough out in the process thanks to great pitching and defense.

Minnesota will now move onto the American League Division Series to face the defending World Series champion Houston Astros.