Minnesota Twins 2017 Season in Review: May

With the season completed, it’s time to look back on the 2017 Minnesota Twins season. We’ll continue our look at 2017 with the month of May.

The Minnesota Twins have completed their season, and it’s time to take a look back at what was an exciting ride for Twins fans!

Puckett’s Pond is doing a series reviewing the 2017 season month by month. You can read about April here. Below is our look back at the month of May. Check back each day for different pieces taking a look at the 2017 playoff Minnesota Twins.

May Overview

Entering the month of May, the Minnesota Twins were 12-11 and 1.5 games back of the AL Central division lead. After the 2016 season, most Twins fans were simply glad that the team was still in contention a month into the season. The month of May would continue to give Twins fans hope.

The Twins put together a 14-12 record for the month of May, leaving them tied for the AL Central lead at the end of the month. At times during the month, the team found themselves leading the division by up to 3 games.

Good wins were found in a series win against division rival and eventual AL Central division winner, Cleveland Indians. The Twins also swept the Baltimore Orioles as they fans continued to gain confidence in the team’s ability to win.

Frustrating End to a Good Month

Unfortunately, the month ended on a sour note. The Twins lost 5 of 6 and 4 straight to close out the month. That streak included a series sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros. If the sweep wasn’t bad enough, the manner in which it happened was. The Twins were outscored 40 to 16 in those three games. Including a record-setting loss where the Astros put up 11 runs in the 8th inning against the Twins bullpen on the Astros way to overcome an 8-2 deficit and go on to win 16-8.

The Astros series sure left Twins fans wondering where this team was going for the remainder of the season. Even with the slump to end May, tied for the division lead was still an exciting place to be. Some young bats and a veteran pitcher were helping add to that excitement.

Individuals of Note

Miguel Sano continued to look locked in during the month May. His batting average wasn’t as high as it was in April, but the slugger was still slashing .268/.368/.500 and also hit 5 home runs during the month. It was hard to see after his awful April at the plate, but Byron Buxton joined Sano in having a good May. Buxton batted .254/.321/.380 with 6 stolen bases and eye-popping defense.

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Ervin Santana continued to set the tone for the pitching staff and the league as he turned in a 3-3 record for May. Santana earned a 2.57 ERA during the month and also pitched his second complete game on the season. What was concerning is Santana was unable to come up big against two contenders in the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies.

May Top HItter: Miguel Sano

May Top Pitcher: Ervin Santana

Interesting things of note

Due to plenty of early rainouts during the young 2017 season, the Twins participated in 2 doubleheaders in May. Both doubleheaders were played at home and in each case, the Twins lost the first game and were victorious in the second.

Next: 4 Twins on Baseball America Appy League List

The Twins ended 2017 with 5 walk-off wins and two of them came in the month of May. On May 5th, Joe Mauer hit his first walk-off home run to secure a win against the Red Sox. Then on May 19th, Mauer again crossed home plate on a Jorge Polanco sacrifice fly to left field giving the Twins the win over the Kansas City Royals.

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