The Twins were three outs away from their first postseason series victory in 21 years, and had their 101-mph closer on the mound, a guy who has never given up a run to the Blue Jays in six career appearances.
What could possibly go wrong?
They nearly found out. Jhoan Duran finished his warmup tosses with the Target Field crowd on its feet, then signaled to Twins athletic trainer Nick Paparesta, who hustled out.
The problem: Duran's thumbnail had somehow sliced a small cut into the side of his thumb as he warmed up, and blood was oozing out. Paparesta closed the cut as manager Rocco Baldelli and home plate umpire Adam Hamari looked on.
"It was nothing to worry [about]," Duran said through interpreter Mauricio Ortiz after recording back-to-back saves in the two-game wild-card series. "They just came to clean up the blood that was coming out so it wouldn't affect my pitches."
Thus reassured, Duran retired three of the four Blue Jays hitters he faced — by strikeout, of course. Particularly heartening to Duran and the Twins was that he chose a different strikeout pitch to each hitter, a sign that his repertoire is especially sharp. Alejandro Kirk swung and missed a low-and-away splitter that registered 98.3 mph, Matt Chapman couldn't reach an 87-mph curveball that dove below the strike zone on the outside corner, and Daulton Varsho flailed at a 101.3-mph fastball that was above the zone, ending the game and the series.
"I want to thank all the staff that has helped me improve all those pitches," Duran said, singling out assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez for working with him. "It just feels nice that I can count on three different pitcher to get the batters out."
Hands of steel
One other injury scare turned out to be similarly benign. A 99.3-mph fastball from Toronto reliever Jordan Romano slammed into Carlos Correa's right hand in the eighth inning, and he was in obvious pain as he walked to first base. Correa talked Baldelli out of removing him from the game, but the Twins ordered X-rays afterward, just in case.
"We did the X-rays already," Correa said after joining in the clubhouse celebration. "It's feeling good. No fracture. We're good to go."
What a relief
The Twins' bullpen remained perfect in the postseason on Wednesday, with five relievers combining for four shutout innings, giving them 7⅓ innings without a run against the Blue Jays.
Considering the relievers on the postseason roster closed the regular season by allowing only two runs, both by Caleb Thielbar, over their last 17⅓ innings, it wasn't a big surprise. But it's sure a nice advantage to have, Baldelli said.
"Every guy we turned to went out and executed. It comes down to very simple things, even in the biggest moments," Baldelli said. "And our bullpen was able to slow down, just do what they do very well, and continue to execute over and over again."
Griffin Jax, who retired all three hitters he faced in the eighth inning, had some help from the defense behind him. Michael A. Taylor made a running catch on the warning track to turn Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s leadoff fly ball, which traveled 395 feet, into the first out.
"Michael Taylor solidifies everything on our team out there," Baldelli said. "He's just so efficient. He gets it done every time."
Moments later, Correa made a short-hop catch on the run of Bo Bichette's hot smash up the middle, then fired it to first base for the second out.
"To be able to complete that play, going at such a funny angle, it's a play that I bet is not completed most of the time," Baldelli said.
