Can The Minnesota Twins Save Their Season?

With below 40 video games to play within the common season, the Twins are tied with the White Sox within the American League Central. Going into the season, this might need been anticipated to be an enviable spot, however given how Chicago’s 12 months has gone, it spells hassle for the Twins.

At one sport above .500 and in the course of their longest shedding streak of the season, one which reached six video games with Thursday’s 6-3 loss to the Astros, Minnesota is in peril of lacking the playoffs. Their present odds of constructing the postseason are 15.2%, based on Baseball Reference.

On condition that the Twins have lead the AL Central for a lot of the season, this may be a disappointment. The excellent news for Twins followers is that not less than within the Minnesota clubhouse, they don’t seem to be apprehensive, not less than not publicly.

“There’s not loads to reconcile, as we noticed a variety of good issues,” supervisor Rocco Baldelli instructed reporters Thursday. “There have been glimpses of issues we’d somewhat see than what we’ve seen recently, however we have to put all of it collectively.”

The Twins’ latest skid has been largely due to poor hitting and spotty pitching coming collectively on the improper time. In the identical method that getting every thing clicking directly can get a crew on a scorching streak, having issues go the opposite path can ship a crew right into a spiral fairly simply.

However on an encouraging word, the Twins haven’t misplaced an excessive amount of floor of their division regardless of latest struggles. They’re nonetheless simply 4 video games behind Cleveland for the division lead, and the White Sox have performed all season like a crew that can by no means pose an actual menace.

The wild card image is a little bit more durable. Proper now, the Rays, Blue Jays, and Mariners would take up three spots, and the Twins are two-and-a-half video games behind the Orioles. And since June, no crew has been hotter than Baltimore. They posted a 14-12 report that month and have gone 30-17 by July and most of August.

Key for the Twins going ahead is likely to be their capability to maintain negativity from festering if the shedding streak continues for much longer.

“In the long run, us gamers must have one another’s again no matter outcomes,” outfielder Max Kepler instructed reporters after Thursday’s loss. “Adversity goes to be inevitable on this sport, so we simply want to remain optimistic and provides it our greatest shot.”

It might assist too if shortstop Carlos Correa would snap out of his latest funk. He went 1-for-11 throughout the sequence in Houston, and he’s batting simply .154 with one extra-base hit over the past seven days. Correa is getting $35.1 million from the Twins this 12 months and will train his participant choices in 2023 and 2024 on the similar price to remain in Minnesota, however Correa has beforehand expressed a need to get a extra long-term contract. Relying on how issues play out with the Twins over the subsequent six weeks, he might resolve to go elsewhere out of a need to be within the postseason.

Wanting forward, the Twins have a few sequence on the schedule that might assist them with a bounceback. They return house from being swept in Houston to a few video games towards the Giants and three towards the Purple Sox. Each are groups far out of the playoff race, and Boston is in final place within the American League East. As September begins, the Twins will head to Chicago to face the more and more hapless White Sox earlier than a tricky stretch that features a street journey to face the Yankees after which a sequence at house towards Cleveland. If they’ll get their season again on observe, the subsequent two weeks look to be the time to do it.

Whether or not or not that occurs will doubtless rely on if they will get the type of manufacturing from their offense that helped propel the Twins earlier within the season, after they had profitable information in April in Could. Because the begin of June, Minnesota has not even been in a position to tread water, posting information every month which can be more and more additional under .500. They’re simply 9-13 (.409 profitable share) so far in August.

Can the Twins save their season? Regardless of poor play by the summer time months, they continue to be shut sufficient to get a playoff spot. Their report over the past three months would appear to point that they gained’t flip issues round, but when they will discover the spark that pushed them to the highest of the division in April and Could, the Twins might save their 2022 marketing campaign.