If the Twins were flirting with first place this summer just to add suspense to the Central Division championship chase, then it’s time to stop with the theatrics. With only 18 games left on the schedule, trailing the first place White Sox by one game, and no chance of qualifying for a Wild Card spot in the playoffs, the local boys face Urgency with a capital U.
The Twins have lost 12 of their last 16 games, although they did pick up a badly needed win last night against Kansas City at the Metrodome helped by Justin Morneau’s two- run home run. The road trip that started August 21 and ended September 4 was a disappointment for the Twins winning five, losing nine. Then last weekend’s series with Detroit was another lost opportunity.
Detroit won two out of three as the Twins lost their first home series since June 3-5 against Baltimore while ending a streak of 11 straight home series wins. Saturday and Sunday’s losses to the Tigers were also the first time the Twins have lost back-to-back home games since May 30-31 against New York.
Problem No. 1 is the Twins can’t hold leads. The bullpen has blown four consecutive save opportunities and six of their last eight. If the bullpen can be more reliable and the defense rock solid, maybe the Twins can overtake Chicago.
Still in the Twins’ favor is that they have the White Sox here for a series September 23-25. So far this season manager Ron Gardenhire’s team is 5-1 in Minneapolis against the White Sox. In Chicago, the White Sox dominated, winning seven of nine games.
The Twins are 48-25 at home, 31-40 on the road. They need to win the three game series with Kansas City at the dome. The way things are going that makes a fan take a deep breath in anticipation of the upcoming road games starting Friday at Baltimore, then on to Cleveland and Tampa Bay. If the Twins revert back to mid-summer form, things could be cheery except perhaps in Tampa Bay where the amazing Rays have the second best record in the American League and are trying to win a franchise first East Division championship.
While the Twins have to go through the Rays and White Sox to win the division, Chicago faces only one playoff contender the rest of the season, Minnesota. As of today, both Chicago and Minnesota have the same number of remaining home and away games, eight and 10.