2023 MLB playoffs: Twins move on to face Astros in ALDS after sweeping Blue Jays in Wild Card Series

The Minnesota Twins have punched their ticket to the American League Division Series. The Twins completed the two-game Wild Card Series sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field on Wednesday afternoon (MIN 2, TOR 0) and will now take on the Houston Astros in the ALDS. It will be Carlos Correa against his former team. That series begins Saturday at Minute Maid Park.

Minnesota snapped their record 18-game postseason losing streak in Game 1 on Tuesday and now they have their first postseason series win since beating the Oakland Athletics in the 2002 ALDS. Correa (single) and Willi Castro (RBI double play) provided Game 2's lone runs in the fourth inning, after Blue Jays manager John Schneider replaced starter José Berríos with Yusei Kikuchi

Twins pitchers completely dominated the Blue Jays in the two-game sweep. Gone are the days of Minnesota taking a roster full of pitch-to-contact soft-tossers into the postseason. Their staff is now loaded with power and spin, and they held Toronto to one run in the Wild Card Series sweep. And, whenever Toronto began to piece together a rally, the Twins seemed to make all the plays defensively.

Perhaps the most memorable play of the series took place in the fifth inning. The Blue Jays had runners on second and third with two outs and Bo Bichette -- their best hitter -- at the plate. Sonny Gray then picked Vladimir Guerrero Jr. off second to end the threat. An inning later, Matt Chapman banged into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play with the bases loaded.

The Blue Jays have now lost seven consecutive postseason games dating back to Game 4 of the 2016 ALCS. That is tied with the Tampa Bay Rays, who were eliminated earlier in the day Tuesday, for the longest active postseason losing streak in baseball. Toronto is 0-6 in the postseason during the Bichette/Vlad Jr. era.

With the Twins and Texas Rangers advancing Tuesday, the ALDS matchups set. The Twins are going to Houston and the Rangers are going to Baltimore to play the Orioles. The Division Series is a best-of-five.