The Twins slumped badly in June with a 9-18 record while allowing a whopping 169 runs — almost twice as many as they allowed in April and May combined (173).
They’ve been a little better in July, squeaking out three one-run wins (after going 0-9 in one-run games since late May). That included two entertaining walk-off wins at Target Field over the weekend in a competitive series against a good Tampa Bay team.
A loss in the series finale Sunday dropped the Twins to 43-47, a far cry from the 34-27 mark they carried in early June before their slump. At that point, they were in second place in the AL Central, six games behind Detroit. Cleveland was right behind Minnesota at 33-27, while Kansas City was 32-29.
Detroit, Cleveland and Kansas City all made the postseason a year ago after the Twins collapsed down the stretch. Conventional wisdom held that the AL Central could be among the best divisions in baseball this season, and that seemed true just a month ago.
Instead, only Detroit has plowed forward. The Tigers are 16-12 since June 4. The Twins are 9-20. The Royals are 11-19. And the Guardians, mired currently in a 10-game losing streak, are 7-21.
That has allowed the Twins to somehow still occupy second place in the division, albeit more by default and with a far more distant view of both the Tigers (13 ½ games back) and in the wild card race (five games back of third wild card Seattle, with three teams between the Twins and Mariners).
What happened? We know the Twins’ story: Pablo López’s injury coincided with a pitching slide that an inconsistent offense couldn’t offset.
The Guardians have scored just 15 runs during their 10-game losing streak, which was extended Sunday when Detroit rallied in the ninth.
