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Minnesota Twins: 3 Up, 3 Down for week of 5/27-6/2

By Chris Schad

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - JUNE 02: Jake Odorizzi #12 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on June 02, 2019 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - JUNE 02: Jake Odorizzi #12 of the Minnesota Twins delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on June 02, 2019 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /
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OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Matt Magill #68 of the Minnesota Twins looks on after giving up a walk-off solo home run to Khris Davis #2 of the Oakland Athletics in the bottom of the tenth inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on September 21, 2018 in Oakland, California. The Athletics won the game 7-6. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Matt Magill #68 of the Minnesota Twins looks on after giving up a walk-off solo home run to Khris Davis #2 of the Oakland Athletics in the bottom of the tenth inning at Oakland Alameda Coliseum on September 21, 2018 in Oakland, California. The Athletics won the game 7-6. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

DOWN: The Twins bullpen

The Twins may have gone 4-2, but they didn’t get much help from a bullpen that’s starting to fade. Minnesota entered Sunday’s game with the Rays with a 4.05 bullpen ERA, but that number blew up after the relievers allowed the Rays to score seven runs to turn a 7-0 lead into a 9-7 nail-biter.

The tone was set early in the week when Taylor Rogers coughed up a two-run home run to Orlando Arcia to give the Brewers a 5-4 victory over the Twins on May 27 and gave up another run (along with two from Blake Parker) in a 5-3 win over Milwaukee the following night.

That led to the full-blown implosion from Littell in the Twins 14-3 loss to the Rays and another breakdown from Matt Magill that almost cost them the series finale on Sunday afternoon.

The Twins have an outstanding record and a lead (and schedule) within their division that virtually guarantees them a spot in the postseason at this point. However, it won’t mean much if the Twins continue to try to win games by simply out-slugging their opponents.

A recent history of Twins' first-round draft picks. dark. Next

With Craig Kimbrel still on the market and names like Andrew Miller potentially available via trade, the Twins should get aggressive for a team that has a lineup worthy of a deep October run.

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