Blue Jays fall to Twins in wild-card series opener, putting season in peril

The Toronto Blue Jays kicked off their post-season with a whimper on Tuesday afternoon by dropping a 3-1 decision to the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

Royce Lewis hit two home runs as the Twins took the opener of the best-of-three American League wild-card series and ended an 18-game playoff losing streak.

The Blue Jays managed six hits and starter Kevin Gausman (12-9 in regular season) lasted only four innings. He gave up three earned runs, three hits and three walks while striking out five.

Minnesota starter Pablo Lopez (11-8) was effective over his 5 2/3-inning appearance. He gave up one earned run and five hits.

Jhoan Duran issued a two-out walk to Whit Merrifield before locking down the save.

Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. The AL Central Division champion Twins will host all games in the series as the higher-seeded team.

Toronto's playoff losing skid, which dates back to 2016, rose to six games. The Blue Jays have been swept in the wild-card series in two of the last three years.

With Quebec City native Edouard Julien aboard after a leadoff walk, Lewis turned on a full-count pitch from Gausman to put a charge into the announced crowd of 38,450.

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