Bengal fast bowler Mukesh Kumar and left-arm spinner Shreyan Chakraborty have tested positive for Covid-19, it emerged on Wednesday, after the state association conducted RT-PCR tests on 63 people, including 37 cricketers - male and female.

"The Cricket Association of Bengal [CAB] today held a Covid-19 Test Camp where 63 persons, including 21 senior Bengal cricketers and 16 women cricketers, were tested maintaining strict Covid protocols," a statement from the association said. "Incidentally Shreyan Chakraborty and Mukesh Kumar tested positive during the drive."

After obtaining no-objection certificates from all relevant departments of the government, the CAB on Wednesday conducted the camp following the approved SOPs, with CAB president Avishek Dalmiya explaining that the tests were done for people "who will be directly and indirectly involved as the association gets ready to begin its staggered gym sessions at the indoor facility within the Eden Gardens premises".

The process was conducted under the supervision of Naresh OJha, the CAB vice-president who has also been made chairperson of the Covid Task Force at the association. Ojha confirmed that those tested included, apart from the cricketers, "the coaching team, physios, housekeeping boys, security staff and Dr Ujjal Banerjee, who is also a grade one umpire, he has been appointed as a doctor for the camp".

Kolkata Knight Riders 174 for 6 (Gill 47, Morgan 34*, Archer 2-18) beat Rajasthan Royals 137 for 9 (Curran 54*, Mavi 2-20, Nagarkoti 2-13, Chakravarthy 2-25, Cummins 1-13) by 37 runs

Jofra Archer ambushed Shubman Gill and Dinesh Karthik with blistering pace and bounce, but a collective effort from the Kolkata Knight Riders' quicks trumped Archer's 2 for 18 and handed the Rajasthan Royals their first defeat in IPL 2020. The result meant the Knight Riders jumped from seventh to second on the points table, opening up the tournament further.

After Steven Smith swiped at Pat Cummins and nicked him behind for three in the second innings, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti scythed through the line-up to leave the top-heavy Royals at 42 for 5 in the eighth over and effectively kill off their pursuit of 175.

Earlier in the evening, when Archer was rushing both Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell, it appeared like 174 was beyond the Knight Riders' reach. Morgan was also pinged on the helmet by Ankit Rajpoot, but he shook that off and provided the finishing kick with an unbeaten 34 off 23 balls. Dinesh Karthik then rifled through his bowling options and made that total look a whole lot bigger as the Royals meandered to 137 for 9 in their 20 overs. That the margin of defeat was only 37 was thanks to an unbeaten 36-ball 54 from the Royals' No. 7 Tom Curran.

Archer's spell from hell

Archer had first crack at Sunil Narine and immediately had him hopping with a 149kph rocket that flew past his outside edge. He then breached 150kph the next ball to beat another swish from Narine outside off. Narine, though, found his release against the lesser pace of Jaydev Unadkat and Rajpoot before the left-arm seamer knocked him over for 15 off 14 balls.

Gill, the other opener, was more assured and set to work with a lofted six over long-on off Rajpoot. His best shot, though, came in the ninth over off legspinner Shreyas Gopal. After the bowler darted a slider that wasn't short enough for the pull, Gill, having already pressed on the front foot, adjusted to the length and swatted it away between deep square leg and deep midwicket for four.

Enter, again, Archer. He bowled what looked like a legcutter, clocked at 140kph, drew a leading edge, and snapped up the return catch, dismissing Gill for 47 off 34 balls. He then tested Russell, who was bumped up to No. 4 with a near-150kph lifter that burst past his helmet. In his next over, Archer nailed another legcutter, this one at 147kph, hit a Test-match line and the outside edge of Karthik. He proceeded to rattle Morgan, too, with the short stuff and could have had his England white-ball captain on 8 had Curran not dropped a catch at deep backward point.

Russell and Morgan tee off

Having somehow survived that Archer burst and a blow on the helmet from Rajpoot, Morgan punished Curran by muscling a slower offcutter over midwicket for six. Morgan then flitted around his crease, messing with the lines and head of Curran. The seamer bowled three wide yorkers past the tramline and ended up conceding 16 off the final over.

Russell also did his part, lining up Gopal and the short leg-side boundaries. After viciously slog-sweeping a wrong 'un with the spin into the top tier beyond square leg, he whipped one over the midwicket boundary. Both balls disappeared and they had to be replaced. Russell's fun, however, ended in the 15th over when Rajpoot shifted his lines much wider and had him carving a catch to deep backward point 24 off 14 balls. The two big-hitters had done enough to haul the Knight Riders past 170.

The chase that wasn't

In the chase, Smith stabbed at Cummins' first ball and missed. The second ball nearly kissed the edge. The third one was plinked over mid-off. Smith then had a massive swing at Cummins' fourth, so much that he lost his shape and fell away down the leg side. The resultant inside edge was snaffled by Karthik.

Jos Buttler, though, used the extra pace of Cummins to his advantage and pulled off a signature ramped six. Just when it looked like Buttler was finding a higher tempo, Mavi took him and the in-form Sanju Samson down in successive overs.

Samson was the first to go, flapping a hard-length delivery to midwicket while Butter reached out to a wide delivery outside off and picked out short third man for 21 off 16 balls. Cummins and Mavi bowled five of the six overs in the powerplay, returning combined figures of 5-0-24-2. By the time Kamlesh Nagarkoti entered the attack and got Robin Uthappa and Riyan Parag in the same over, Royals were 42 for 5 and the asking rate 11.

Curran struck 54 not out off 36 balls around the slide, 27 of which came off 12 balls from Narine. Varun Chakravarthy, the other mystery spinner, was more impressive, coming away with 2 for 25 in his four overs. In the end, the Knight Riders needed just three overs from Kuldeep Yadav and none at all from Russell.

The first day of Pakistan's National T20 Cup saw defending champions Northern get off to a blazing start against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and in the late game Central Punjab trumped Southern Punjab by seven wickets.

Northern beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 79 runs

Northern began their title defence with a thumping win over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a 180-run partnership between Haider Ali and Zeeshan Malik propelled them to 242 for 3, the second-highest domestic T20 total in the country.

Northern opted for first strike after winning the toss, and following Ali Imran's early fall to Shaheen Afridi, Haider and Malik combined for a spectacular onslaught. Haider hit 90 off 48 balls, and Malik a 47-ball 77, the Shadab Khan-led side crossing 200 in the 17th over. Despite all four Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bowlers being Pakistan internationals, no one was spared punishment. Wahab Riaz conceded an eye-watering 51 runs in his three overs, and while Junaid Khan did, eventually, account for both Haider and Mailk, it wasn't before he had conceded 44 in his four overs.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were never in with a shot, and the early dismissals of Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Hafeez reduced the chase to a damage limitation exercise after 6.1 overs, and that is exactly how they treated it for much of the innings. A slapdash 62 from Sahibzada Farhan did his personal stocks no harm, while a run-a-ball 20 from Shoaib Malik never threatened the outcome of the contest.

The wickets were shared around by the Northern bowlers, with all five of them getting in on the action. Mohammad Musa took three, while a pair each for Mohammad Nawaz and Sohail Tanvir early on effectively killed the game off. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa did bat through to the end, compiling 163, but on what was a very high-scoring day, that effort appeared exceedingly tame.

Central Punjab beat Southern Punjab by 7 wickets

Abdullah Shafique became just the third Pakistani to score a hundred on both first-class and T20 debuts, his 58-ball 102 not out helping Central to storm to victory in Multan. Chasing 201 after Shan Masood and Sohaib Maqsood had hit half-centuries to take Southern to 200 for 8, Central lost two wickets in the first over. But Shafique, alongside Kamran Akmal, put together a stunning 145-run stand to put their side on course.

Akmal was responsible for much of the damage during the powerplay, bringing up his half-century in just 23 balls on his way to a blistering 41-ball 75. Shafique served as more than just a support act, hanging tough even after Akmal was dismissed, and by the time he had eased to a century, the result had long become a formality, coming up in 18.5 overs. Only Mohammad Irfan among the Southern bowlers completed his quota of overs as skipper Masood switched things around in search of a way to halt the momentum.

Earlier, Masood was one of two half-centurions after winning the toss and opting to bat, and he and Maqsood put the home side on track for a big score with a 67-run stand for the second wicket. However, regular wickets during the last six overs prevented them from quite taking off in the death overs, and while 200 was by no means indefensible, the flat track meant Central were always in with a chance. Akmal and Shafique ensured that as Central got their campaign off to the perfect start.

METAIRIE, La. -- New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas returned to practice on a limited basis Wednesday after missing the past two games with a high ankle sprain.

It's unclear if Thomas will be able to play Sunday at the Detroit Lions. But the Saints obviously targeted this week as a realistic possibility because they never placed him on injured reserve (which would have required him to miss at least three games).

The Saints (1-2) could certainly use the offensive boost. In Thomas' absence, they have lost two consecutive games for the first time in three years. And they rank last in the NFL with 283 yards by wide receivers this season, with quarterback Drew Brees being scrutinized for not getting the ball downfield enough.

"Obviously, his presence is a difference, because you know at any moment he can make big plays," Brees said after Wednesday's practice. "And he's obviously a featured guy. So it's good to have him back."

"He looked good out there, so hopefully he feels ready enough to play," running back Alvin Kamara said. "I know he's been itching to play. If it was up to him, he would've tried to play the last two weeks. But obviously, when you're dealing with injury, you gotta do what you gotta do to get healthy so you don't set yourself back."

Another of New Orleans' top pass-catchers, tight end Jared Cook, is also dealing with an injury. Cook missed practice Wednesday after leaving Sunday night's loss to the Green Bay Packers early with a groin injury.

Thomas was named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year last season after breaking the NFL record with 149 receptions. He had three catches for 17 yards in a Week 1 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before being injured in the final minutes of the game when running back Latavius Murray rolled into his leg.

Thomas, 27, has missed only one other game because of injury in his five-year career -- a foot injury during his rookie year in 2016.

HENDERSON, Nev. -- Coach Jon Gruden said Las Vegas Raiders players "let their dauber down a little bit" when they broke COVID-19 protocol by appearing maskless at an indoor charity event Monday night. Quarterback Derek Carr, who attended the event, said the players "had a few moments where we slipped up, took the masks off so people could see our face."

However, both pivoted to the reason the players were at the event in the first place: It was a fundraiser for teammate Darren Waller's foundation to help at-risk youth overcome addiction. Waller himself is now three years sober.

"I hate that a few moments without our masks on led to a story about our team and all this kind of stuff, especially after the fines that were brought on a couple of weeks ago," Carr said Wednesday. "So, we felt terrible about that. We addressed it, we talked with Coach and we talked with our trainers about what really went down and all that kind of stuff."

News of the Raiders appearing at the event without masks surfaced one day before the Tennessee Titans reported positive COVID-19 tests from four players and five team personnel members.

Earlier this month, Gruden was fined $100,000 for not wearing his mask properly on the sideline during Las Vegas' win over the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 21. The Raiders were fined $250,000 and also are being investigated by the NFL for allegedly allowing an unauthorized team employee in the locker room after that game.

Meanwhile, the NFL has issued another strong warning to coaches who won't wear masks on the sideline during games, threatening suspensions and forfeiture of draft picks as punishment for failing to comply with COVID-19 game-day protocols, according to a league memo obtained Wednesday by ESPN's Adam Schefter.

"We all understand that this is a terrible, terrible virus," Gruden said. "And we have to do our part. We're all vulnerable. Unfortunately, it sounds like a few people got the virus. I just wish the best for everybody in Tennessee. And it does certainly get yourself awakened to the reality of, it can get anybody, anywhere, at any time."

Gruden, who has said he had the coronavirus in July, has made it a team mission to "crush the virus." During training camp, he had T-shirts made with that slogan along with the Raiders logo on them.

"I'll just say this: We've done a good job, we've done an excellent job," Gruden said. "Last night, it was addressed with our players. They walked in with their masks on, there was an event. Sometimes you go to a restaurant, take your mask off. They're aware of their mistake.

"But we've done an excellent job -- using our masks, taking proper care of each other and everybody. I'm really proud of our players. And by the way, that was a great cause no one's talked about. [Waller] raised over $300,000 for a great cause. I appreciate our players being there in support of him."

An NFL spokesperson said in an email to ESPN.com on Wednesday afternoon that the league was "looking into the matter," which violated Nevada state regulations for the pandemic and might have broken league regulations.

NFL and National Football League Players Association rules limit what activities players are allowed to engage in when away from team facilities. Players, it is stated, are not allowed to attend any event that "violates local and state restrictions."

The Raiders are slated to host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White said the issue was "definitely something that guys were mentioning in the locker room" but added that the team mostly was not concerned.

"It raised a lot of antennas. But I feel like if we continue to take the precautions and do all the things we're supposed to do and go in the places we're supposed to go and not be selfish with it, I think we'll be fine," White said.

Added Bills coach Sean McDermott, "What we try to do is control what we can control from our end. Got a lot of respect for Coach Gruden, and I'm sure they're on top of it over there."

Joining Carr at Waller's event were backup quarterback Nathan Peterman; tight ends Jason Witten, Foster Moreau and Derek Carrier; wide receivers Zay Jones and Hunter Renfrow; cornerback Nevin Lawson; and center Erik Magnuson.

The event was held indoors at the DragonRidge Country Club, which was fined $2,000 by the city of Henderson for four violations of the Nevada governor's COVID-19 emergency directives, including people not wearing masks and more than 50 people at the event. The club now has 30 days to pay the fine or dispute it.

Raiders owner Mark Davis told ESPN on Tuesday night, "Guys have to be more stringent in fighting the virus. It's still our toughest opponent."

Carr, who posed for pictures with a maskless guest who won his jersey in an auction, said he realized not wearing a mask to the event was a mistake.

"We signed waivers," Carr said. "Hand sanitizer, like crazy. ... We weren't perfect, but we weren't trying to be careless or reckless. But at the same time, [Waller] had an event for something that meant a lot to him and they raised so much money that you won't even begin to imagine how much money they raised to help other people that struggle with addiction, to get them in the right place and things like that. My hope and my prayer is that a few moments of us messing up, a few minutes here, where we were seen on camera, not in the private room, in the separate room for an hour, I hope that we don't lose what was really going on. Because Darren had a great idea. He had a great plan. He wants to help people.

"We should have kept the masks on, even if we are coming in and they're introducing us. ... I was just there trying to support Waller. That's what me and the guys were trying to do, but that's the end of that."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Jared Dudley of the Los Angeles Lakers waited 13 seasons for his first look at the NBA Finals. Goran Dragic's finals debut for the Miami Heat comes in his 12th season. Heat star Jimmy Butler is headed there for the first time in his ninth year.

Long waits, for certain.

They've got nothing on referees Pat Fraher and Tony Brown, who waited a whole lot longer for their opportunity on the NBA's brightest stage.

It took Fraher 19 seasons and Brown 18 seasons, but they're now NBA Finals referees for the first time. The league on Wednesday released the list of 12 refs who earned the right to call at least one game in this series, a group that includes three first-timers -- Fraher, Brown and 10-year referee Josh Tiven.

"What I've been told from multiple people is you've got to approach it just like another game," Fraher said. "We are creatures of habit and our success is built on our routines, so it'll be the same routine that I go through for any other game. I'll be excited and nervous -- but I'm excited and nervous before every game, so hopefully there'll be some familiar feelings for me."

Tiven is on the crew for Wednesday's Game 1 of the series between the Lakers and Heat. Fraher and Brown will make their debuts in either Game 2, Game 3 or Game 4.

Tiven, Marc Davis and Kane Fitzgerald will be the trio on the floor Wednesday night. Davis has made the finals for the ninth time, Fitzgerald for the second time.

In addition to Fraher, Brown, Tiven, Davis and Fitzgerald, the other refs who earned finals trips are Tony Brothers (for the ninth time), James Capers (ninth), Scott Foster (13th), John Goble (fourth), David Guthrie (third), Eric Lewis (second) and Zach Zarba (seventh).

"It is important that the culture represent who does the work gets the accolades of the work, and who has good years, then becomes someone that the league can trust for that year to provide excellent work," said Monty McCutchen, the NBA's vice president who oversees referee development and training. "The games deserve that. Our franchises deserve that."

The NBA evaluates referees in a variety of ways all season long, with the goal being to have the best of the best working in the finals. McCutchen likens it to what the Heat and Lakers went through this season -- finals trips are earned, not given.

"You can't just put people in because they they've reached a certain amount of years or that they've been before," McCutchen said. "It's really important that our years represent what our teams have to go through, which is, they have to perform, and they have to do well and they have to live up to the standards or the competition of what their jobs require. So it is with referees."

Fraher said his first call after getting the news was to his father, who helped him get started as a teen in their native Minnesota and is still refereeing. Brown said he went through a wave of emotions when he got the word, his thoughts immediately turning to his family.

"I was speechless when I found out," Brown said. "The first thing I went through was the sacrifices that my family made to stand by my side during this journey. I was more happy for my family than anything else because we're doing the job, there's a lot of gratitude, but there's a lot of heartache too."

Brown said it was equally difficult to see some referees leaving the bubble after the conference finals, after they learned they weren't going to be part of the finals.

"You feel good, but it's really bittersweet," Brown said.

Brown said he expects to be nervous on his game night, until the ball goes into the air. He's hoping instinct kicks in at that point -- and fellow referees who have been through the finals before say they have found that's exactly what happens.

"Ultimately, it's just about me realizing that I've worked to get where I am," Brown said. "And that's what makes me comfortable that I'm going to do fine."

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More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

A Louisiana man and a Florida man allegedly gained access to professional athletes' social media accounts and either sold the information or used it to extort payments, according to federal criminal complaints released Wednesday.

Trevontae Washington and Ronnie Magrehbi each face wire fraud conspiracy and computer fraud conspiracy counts filed by the U.S. attorney's office in New Jersey.

Washington, 21, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, allegedly obtained usernames and passwords for multiple NFL and NBA players' accounts and sold access to the information.

Magrehbi, 20, of Orlando, Florida, allegedly obtained an NFL player's email and Instagram account information and extorted money by publishing explicit photos of the player and threatening to publish more.

Washington and Magrehbi were scheduled to make initial court appearances Wednesday in their respective states. They were not alleged to have worked together on the scams.

Their alleged victims included two NFL players and one NBA player, all of whom who lived in New Jersey at the time of the alleged crimes.

According to the complaint, Washington used a "phishing" scam -- requesting login information purportedly for a legitimate purpose -- to gain access to the accounts of one NFL player in 2018 and locked the player out of the accounts.

Washington also took over the accounts of at least two other players, and acknowledged to investigators after his arrest last year that he had sold access to players' accounts for between $500 and $1,000 each, the complaint alleged.

Magrehbi also used phishing to take over the social media accounts of an NFL player living in New Jersey in 2018 who eventually paid him $500, according to the complaint.

A few days later, explicit images of the player were posted to his Twitter and Instagram accounts and he was asked for an additional $2,500 to prevent the publishing of additional photos, the complaint alleged. The request came from a prepaid cellphone linked to Magrehbi, according to the complaint.

Court personnel for the Eastern District of Louisiana didn't provide information on an attorney representing Washington. A message was left Wednesday at the Middle District of Florida seeking attorney information for Magrehbi.

Wire fraud conspiracy is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Computer fraud conspiracy has a five-year maximum sentence.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- NBA commissioner Adam Silver reiterated Wednesday that the league's hope is to begin next season with teams in their home arenas and with fans in the seats, though he cautioned that there are still numerous unknowns to work through before any plan can be finalized.

Silver, in his annual state-of-the-league address before Game 1 of the NBA Finals, also said the protocols that allowed the league to get through a restart in the so-called bubble at Walt Disney World Resort -- such as strict adherence to mask-wearing and social distancing -- proved that a balance can be struck "between public health and economic necessity."

"It's certainly our goal," Silver said, referring to playing in arenas. "But it's dependent on some additional advancements. Rapid testing may be the key here."

The NBA was the first major sports league to shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic, on March 11, and it took more than four months to come up with the plan to restart the season at Disney. The league restarted with 22 franchises that came to Florida in early July, and the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers -- the last two left -- are nearing the three-month mark in the bubble.

League and team revenues will take a huge hit this year, partly because about 15% of the regular season was lost to the virus, partly because the 88 games that were played at Disney before the postseason and then the entire playoff run were played without fans buying tickets, food, drink and souvenirs in arenas.

"I don't have expectations of labor issues ... there's no doubt there are issues on the table that have to be negotiated," Silver said. "I think while no doubt there will be issues and difficult negotiations ahead, I think we'll work them out as we always have."

The league still hasn't decided when free agency will start, what the salary cap will be for next season, what the luxury tax line will be and other key details. All of that will have to be worked out with the National Basketball Players Association, and Silver said he expects talks to intensify on those matters once the NBA Finals are over.

"I think we all understand the essential parameters," Silver said.

Michele Roberts, the executive director of the NBPA, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that "either very simple or very complicated conversations are going to be had" to work through the two primary issues -- coming to grips with the lost revenue from this season, and how to best function in a world that is going to be dealing with the coronavirus for the foreseeable future.

Her hope is that the NBA and NBPA figure out a deal in November, which would allow for next season to begin sometime in early 2021.

"We don't have to be frozen paralyzed by this virus, but we don't have to enact a doomsday scenario, assuming that the virus has destroyed our game in ways that will not be repaired," Roberts said. "If we can sit down like adults, I think we can get a new deal in November and we can announce the start of the season. I don't have any reason to doubt that we will be able to start in 2021 and have a full season."

The NBA's hope is to play most, if not all, of next season in arenas and before at least some fans. A bubble or bubbles could happen, though that seems close to a worst-case scenario.

"Do I want to do it again? Not if I can avoid it," said Roberts, who spent the entire restart in the bubble. "Those are my marching orders: not if we can avoid it. Now, having said that, the players want to make sure we can save our season again."

Philadelphia 76ers ownership -- including Josh Harris and David Blitzer -- will meet with Doc Rivers in Philadelphia on Wednesday night on the franchise's head-coaching job, sources told ESPN.

Rivers talked earlier Wednesday in a virtual session with general manager Elton Brand. Brand also attended the meeting with Rivers and the 76ers ownership.

Other top candidates -- including Mike D'Antoni and Ty Lue -- also met with Brand and ownership, and the Sixers were ready to decide between those two until Rivers became available, a source told ESPN.

For the Sixers now, the focus is on Rivers and D'Antoni, a source told ESPN. A decision is expected this week.

Rivers and the LA Clippers parted ways Monday after his seventh season as coach ended with their surprising ouster from the NBA playoffs by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. Sources said Rivers had two years left on his contract.

Lue, a Clippers assistant, is in a strong position to get the head-coaching job in Los Angeles, but the team will conduct a search, a source told ESPN.

Lue is well-regarded and has many of the qualifications the Clippers are seeking: he has won a championship; he has been to multiple NBA Finals; and he understands the pressures of the job, having coached LeBron James in Cleveland.

Lue is also expected to meet with the New Orleans Pelicans about their head-coaching vacancy, sources told ESPN.

The Minnesota Twins' postseason losing streak has reached a stunning 18 games -- and now their 2020 season is over. The Houston Astros eliminated the Twins with a 3-1 victory on Wednesday at Target Field in Minneapolis, a disappointing finish for a team that had rallied to win its second consecutive American League Central title and finished with the best home record in the majors during the 60-game regular season.

The Twins' playoff streak is not only a major league record, but is the longest in U.S. sports history. The NHL's Chicago Blackhawks lost 16 straight playoff games from 1975 to 1979. Before the Twins, the previous MLB record belonged to the Boston Red Sox, who lost 13 playoff games in a row starting with the infamous Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

"We haven't been successful in the playoffs lately, at all. That's a reality for all the fans and for everyone who follows the organization and cares about the Twins," second-year manager Rocco Baldelli said. "I'm aware of it now. The day I showed up here ... I had no idea that was even a thing. I didn't know it existed. I hear about it from people who care about this team. And you know what? We want to do better. We want to do better for ourselves, we want to do better for the organization and we want to do better for the fans, too."

The most recent Twins victory in the postseason was Game 1 of the 2004 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, when they won 2-0 behind seven shutout innings from Johan Santana. Since then:

• Three losses to the Yankees in that 2004 series.

• Three losses to the Oakland A's in the 2006 ALDS.

• Three losses to the Yankees in the 2009 ALDS.

• Three losses to the Yankees in the 2010 ALDS.

• A loss to the Yankees in the 2017 wild-card game.

• Three losses to the Yankees in the 2019 ALDS.

• Two losses to the Astros in the 2020 wild-card round.

"We weren't expecting this, you know? I don't think anyone was really expecting it to end this way. I mean, like life, baseball is also tough, it's unpredictable," Twins slugger Nelson Cruz said.

Said Baldelli: "It was a tough year with an unexpected ending. We believed in ourselves. We believed we were pretty much capable of anything. We went out there today, went out there yesterday, didn't play our best baseball. That is tough to take sometimes, but it's the reality of what happened."

The Twins have led in 11 of the 18 losses but have been outscored 107-48 overall -- including 44-14 from the seventh inning on. The Astros scored three runs in the top of the ninth in Game 1 to win 4-1 and scored the go-ahead run in Game 2 in the seventh inning. The Twins haven't scored more than four runs in any their past 15 defeats.

Along the way, there has been some bad luck. In Game 2 of the 2009 ALDS, Joe Mauer hit what should have been a leadoff double in the top of the 11th inning; his ball hit the left-field foul line, only to see umpire Phil Cuzzi call it a foul ball. Mauer singled and the Twins followed with more singles, but failed to score and the Yankees won the game in the bottom of the 11th.

Last season, some late injuries left the starting rotation a little short-handed against the Yankees. This year, Josh Donaldson and Byron Buxton were both injured in the final weekend of the season. Donaldson was left off the playoff roster because of a calf injury. Buxton, who was hit in the helmet by a pitch last Friday, started Game 1 but did not start Game 2 due to undisclosed physical reasons. He did enter in the eighth inning as a pinch runner -- and was picked off first base.

While the Twins will bring back most of their top players, they do have several key free agents to replace or re-sign, including the ageless Cruz, who led the team in home runs, runs and OPS. Pitcher Jake Odorizzi, who made only four starts due to injuries, is also a free agent. After the game, with his teammates back in the clubhouse, Odorizzi paused at the pitcher's mound and squatted over the rubber as the grounds crew cleaned up.

Marwin Gonzalez, Trevor May, Rich Hill, Tyler Clippard and Alex Avila are others heading to free agency. Cruz told reporters, "Hopefully, I'll be back next year."

And Baldelli said he sees no reason the Twins won't be contenders again in 2021.

"This is a great organization, I love being here. I see no reason, and nothing stopping us, from having a ton of success the next time we get an opportunity to go and do this," he said. "We have all of the pieces, we have the right people, and I'll tell you what, this organization, from top to bottom, is a group of people that, if you know them, you would believe in them. Believe me."