Scoggins: After a sleepy start to the season, Twins are showing signs of life

The Twins discovered a solution to their attendance issues. Cut the slapstick routine and show some life.

They played like a smart baseball team Wednesday afternoon. A smart, aggressive, fundamentally sound big league team.

And when things went sideways, they didn’t fold like a lawn chair. They steadied themselves and executed winning pitches and swings to claim the series against a quality opponent.

A 4-3 victory over the New York Mets in 10 innings at Target Field gave the Twins a two-game winning streak and three wins in four outings as they attempt to climb out of a deep hole.

“There was absolutely no quit,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “That was just all toughness. I loved it. I loved the aggressiveness that our team showed all day long.”

The performance wasn’t perfect, but the optics should have been pleasing to observers. The Twins ran the bases aggressively to put pressure on the Mets. They made timely defensive plays, including throwing a runner out at home and a heads-up unassisted double play by Edouard Julien with the bases loaded.

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Griffin Jax’s eighth-inning hiccup put a smudge mark on the pitching staff’s otherwise stellar outing, but blowing a 3-0 lead wasn’t a death knell this time. Heaven knows, this team can’t afford to keep traveling down that path.

A layer of negativity has settled over the organization since the freefall at the end of last season. The vibe has been terrible. The opening 11% of this season has exacerbated the ugliness by serving as theater of the absurd.

A sampling …

— The sale of the team has not been completed and might not be for some time, a continuous source of consternation for fans.

— Young star Royce Lewis began the season in a familiar place, the injured list, and isn’t close to returning.

— Anemic hitting fueled a 4-11 start.

— Opening day starter Pablo López is on the injured list.

— Carlos Correa has a sore wrist that he revealed has caused him discomfort since last season.

— Jose Miranda struggled at the plate, got demoted because of a brain-cramp base running mistake, then injured his hand shopping at Target when he lost grip of a case of water and caught it as it fell. For those scoring at home, that is E-H2O.

A lot has transpired in three weeks, much of it unpleasant.

The Twins desperately needed a day like Wednesday. A spirited performance that showed grit and energy, something that makes fans cheer instead of jeer.

The organization set a dubious record earlier this week with the lowest announced attendance in Target Field’s 15-year history. The announced paid figure on Monday was 10,240. The actual crowd was much smaller.

There are fans who will boycott until the Pohlad family relinquishes control of the team through a sale. Others just want to see competent baseball. They want to see a team that hustles, that doesn’t make silly throwing errors, that puts together competitive at-bats. A team that wins, or least doesn’t sabotage itself with amateurish mistakes.

Baldelli mentioned recently needing a “shock” to get players to perform better. Losing by playing poorly should have that effect. Standing on a field in an empty stadium should, too.

The Twins showed signs of being jolted in back-to-back wins over the Mets.

“They’re learning, they’re adapting, and that’s the way you want to see it right here in the big leagues,” Baldelli said. “That’s the way it should be played, and our guys are doing it right.”

The next step is to continue doing it. One or two wins isn’t enough evidence to suggest that a hot streak is in the offing. Consistency is the goal.

The Twins needed an uplifting performance, though, as much as they need oxygen. You could feel it. Fans needed it, too. A baseball season is long enough already. A bad, boring product makes a season feel like taking a train to nowhere. Or a reason to tune out altogether.

The ballpark had a different vibe Wednesday. It felt refreshing.