Blue Jays to battle Twins in Wild Card Series

TORONTO -- Stop the count and pop the champagne, the Blue Jays are headed to Minneapolis.

Toronto clinched its postseason spot late Saturday but saved the champagne celebration for after Game 162, and by then, the chaotic and complicated AL Wild Card race had finally been settled. With Toronto’s loss Sunday, 12-8 to Tampa Bay, and a Houston win, Toronto was bumped back to the final Wild Card spot and No. 6 overall seed in the American League.

That earns the Blue Jays a date with the Twins, beginning today at Target Field. All three games are scheduled for a 4:38 p.m. ET start.

Inside the clubhouse, Sunday’s loss felt a million miles away. Plastic draped the walls as players grabbed bottles and cigars. Manager John Schneider stood in the center of the room and delivered a message to the team behind which he’s stood so firmly all season.

“Ups and downs, we are right where we should be,” Schneider said. “Let’s take a deep [freaking] run at this.”

It’s time for that. The Blue Jays’ 2022 postseason ended in heartbreak, suffering one of the biggest letdowns in franchise history in their own house to the Mariners. Their postseason run in ‘20 didn’t get off the ground, either, ending in two games against the Rays. Now, it’s up to the Blue Jays to do something greater, and in the process, rebrand those brief visits as stops on the road to something special.

In the center of everything, of course, was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The party, like the lineup, tends to revolve around him.

“All of this, all of this sweat, it converts into joy and harmony, you know,” Guerrero said. “You see all of us smiling right now, and it’s not all the time that you see all of us smiling like that. … We’re all enjoying this. I think that’s a big thing, we’re all in harmony and at peace right now. We’re all celebrating together.”

This organization is still searching for its way back to 1992-93, the glory years of the Blue Jays. The postseason runs of 2015-16 reignited something long dormant, and it’s clear that the Blue Jays will need to go further than a Wild Card Series to capture Canada once again.

So far, this has worked just the way the Blue Jays wanted it to. Their young core, led by Guerrero and Bo Bichette, has meshed with big-name free agent and trade additions. When last season’s version of this team didn’t work, the Blue Jays pivoted, swapping their big-blow identity for pitching and defense. Those who have been around this group’s first run three seasons ago feel the unfinished business.

“It’s special to accomplish a lot of great things with them,” Bichette said. “We’ve done amazing things, but it’s definitely time for us to take that next step. We’ll see if we’re capable of doing that.”

The difference between last year’s team and this year’s? Beyond the style, so many of these players point to the camaraderie in the clubhouse. A week ago in New York, Cavan Biggio called this the closest group he’s ever been a part of. It’s a difficult thing to quantify, but it echoes through that clubhouse, player to player.

“We’re united. We trust each other. And we’re hungry to win,” Guerrero said. “I think that’s what’s different about this team.”

Following his speech, Schneider got to take it all in. He made sure to move from player to player, either to hug them, thank them or douse them with a fresh bottle. Last year’s Wild Card loss still hangs over the team, but Sunday showed the joy of a new hope and new shot to change the story.

“This is why you play, to get drenched in beer and champagne,” Schneider said. “This is why you do it. I love that the guys get to feel that. There are guys who have been here for a while and felt this a few years now, but the next step is feeling it multiple times as you keep going. I love it. This is what a team is about.”

Now, they start again. The 89-73 Blue Jays will wake up Monday in Minneapolis, 0-0, two wins from advancing to an AL Division Series matchup against the Astros.

The path from Spring Training to this moment hasn’t been a straight line. There have been bumps in the road, wrong turns and a few passengers left behind at truck stops along the way, but what happens next will define how this season, and these players, are remembered.