While Game 1 of the ALDS didn't go the way the Minnesota Twins would have liked, it wasn't nearly the disaster it could have been.
Bailey Ober gave up a home run on this very first pitch of the game, and the Twins would eventually fall into a 5-0 hole. Rather than crumble under the weight of what happened, Minnesota fought back and scored four runs in the seventh inning to almost entirely erase a brilliant start by Justin Verlander.
Jorge Polanco and Royce Lewis hit back-to-back home runs and combined for four RBI, but it's the vibes that were created from that surge that goes farther than anything the box score can show. In years past the Twins would have folded, but they picked themselves up off the mat and kept slugging away at Houston.
Minnesota might have lost the game, but showed a fight that suggests it can win the series.
It's a sentiment that was shared by players in the clubhouse after the game, as Ryan Jeffers sent a message that will have Twins fans -- and hopefully his teammates -- ready to run through a wall.
Ryan Jeffers sends message to Twins ahead of ALDS Game 2
After the loss in Game 1, Jeffers said what every Twins fan was thinking after watching the team claw back and almost beat the Astros.
Ryan Jeffers:
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) October 8, 2023
"We know we can hang with whoever. I don’t think we’re coming out of this game with our tails between our legs and scared of what happened today."
Jeffers wasn't going to say the Twins didn't think they had a chance after Game 1, but he didn't have to come flying so hard off the top rope. That's the kind of confidence that is so authentically organic that it's hard to believe it's not being felt by everyone in the clubhouse.
It's worth mentioning that Minnesota had Houston's number in the regular season. The Twins won the season series 4-2, and it's clear they're not intimidated by the Astros postseason prowess. It's true that the Astros are a different beast in October than they are in the regular season, but the Twins aren't cowering.