Minnesota Twins 3 Up, 3 Down: Arraez’s surge continues for Twins
The Minnesota Twins had a difficult week on the field, but one of the bright spots was the play of infielder Luis Arraez.
The sky is falling for the Minnesota Twins. At least, if you’ve checked Twitter recently, that’s what many would have you to believe. For the first time this year, the Twins posted a losing week, dropping two-of-three games to the Boston Red Sox and splitting a series with the Kansas City Royals.
With a bullpen that’s begun to show cracks and an offense that suddenly has lost its clutch gene, there’s a lot to make Twins fans panic despite having a 50-27 record and an eight game lead over the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central. However, this could just be a simple bump in the road.
The Twins should get Byron Buxton back this week from a wrist injury that put him on the injured list and odds are Miguel Sano isn’t going to strike out every other at-bat (or is he?). The bullpen remains a concern, but there were several Twins that had uncharacteristic weeks leading to their worst week of the season.
About that. Even though the Twins had a rough week, they still had a 3-4 record. While the Twins did that, the Houston Astros endured a seven-game losing streak despite leading the AL West. Bottom line? Bad weeks happen. Even to good teams.
Things should get better for the Twins in the coming weeks and if they can add a pitcher (or two) before next month’s trade deadline, this team should be fine once they return to full health. Even then, there’s plenty to still be optimistic about heading into this week.
UP: Luis Arraez
The week began with a flurry of roster moves that included the call-up of Willians Astudillo, but another move that went off the radar was the return of Luis Arraez. With his call-up prompted by an injury to Ehire Adrianza, Arraez came up as the same house of fire he was in his earlier stint with the major league club.
In four games since his call-up, Arraez went 8-for-15 (.533) including a four-hit day against the Royals on Sunday afternoon. Even with Adrianza possibly coming back soon, Arraez could be here to stay for a good chunk of time as Jonathan Schoop has missed the past two games with a sore ankle.
Obviously, Arraez won’t hit over .500 for the rest of the season, but he provides tremendous energy off the bench. If the 22-year old can continue to play at a high level, it gives the Twins a great insurance plan in case one of the current injuries linger on or a new one pops up.
DOWN: Miguel Sano
Sano nearly played himself off of this list with a game-winning home run against the Royals on Friday night and another solo home run to start the scoring on Saturday. However, both home runs were sandwiched by an obscene amount of strikeouts.
Last week, Sano had 17 strikeouts in 23 at-bats while batting .086 (2-for-23), but his two hits were the previously mentioned home runs. This has been an even bigger problem as of late as in his last 14 games dating back to June 4, Sano has slashed .173/.246/.423 with four of his nine hits leaving the park.
Sano exhibits tremendous power at the plate, but his recent approach has been horrendous. The 26-year old has been check swinging at anything near the plate and can’t seem to catch up with the pitches that are grooved down the plate. It’s possible that Sano is dealing with rust due to his delayed start to the season, but how much can the Twins tolerate?
The good news is that Sano is still hitting for power and perhaps with more regular playing time, the third baseman will snap out of his funk. For now, he needs to start making contact just to be a viable member of the lineup.
UP: Max Kepler
On one hand, it was a tough week for Max Kepler. The Twins oufielder was in the hunt for one of the top nine outfielder spots to advance for the MLB All-Star Game Starters’ Election, but missed out to Texas’ Joey Gallo by 138 votes. On the other hand, Kepler had a clutch week when many of the other Twins struggled at the plate.
Kepler delivered one of the Twins’ signature moments of the year during a 17-inning victory over the Red Sox on June 18. After hitting a game-tying home run in the 13th inning, Kepler would blast the game-winning single in the bottom of the 17th to help give the Twins the win. Kepler would homer again the following night and delivered a RBI single as part of the Twins’ rally to defeat the Royals last Friday night.
Kepler’s rebound season has been a big one for the Twins as he’s hit .271 with 19 HR and 51 RBI despite spending most of his time in the leadoff spot. Mix in strong defense in right field and Kepler should be in the mix as an All-Star reserve.
DOWN: The Twins’ health
One of the biggest reasons for the Twins’ success this season has been their luck on the injury front. Outside of a short stint without Nelson Cruz and Mitch Garver, the Twins have been able to avoid the injury list this season and trot out their best possible lineup. Unfortunately, that luck ran out last week.
After Adrianza and Buxton went on the injured list at the beginning of the week, utility man Marwin Gonzalez went on the shelf with a hamstring later in the week. Even reliever Blake Parker went on the family emergency list to tend to his pregnant wife, leaving the Minnesota bullpen short handed in a week where they played a 17-inning game.
Sometimes injuries can be chalked up to bad luck and fortunately the Twins should get Buxton back from a wrist contusion early this week. Even with the Twins having a losing week, there should be better days ahead once the lineup returns to health.
UP: Jose Berrios
The numbers that Jose Berrios has produced this season have looked great, but if you’ve watched some of his starts this season, it’s easy to think that he has yet to put it all together. Outside of his Opening Day start against the Cleveland Indians, Berrios hasn’t looked like the dominant pitcher we’ve expected him to be, but he made up for lost time this week.
The right-hander shut down the Red Sox lineup for eight innings on June 17 allowing just one run on five hits while striking out 10. Berrios returned later in the week to shut down the Royals with seven shutout innings and may have been on his way to a complete game shutout if it weren’t for a blister that forced him out of the game in the eighth inning with a line of two earned runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Berrios has pitched well all year long, but this is the dominant form he can achieve when he’s running on all cylinders. If he’s able to do that, the Twins will have a true ace for a potential postseason chase.
The Twins lead in the AL Central
Just to clarify, it’s not time to panic, yet. But as the Twins have scuffled over the past week, the Cleveland Indians have started to hit their stride. Part of that is a product of a schedule that has lightened up as the Indians played a solid, but not spectacular Texas squad and a Detroit lineup that sits at toward the bottom of the division.
The Twins’ lead sits at eight games entering Monday, but there’s still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about this team. Odds are the Twins will make a move to improve this team and, as mentioned in the intro, they will get some of their key players after a quick stint on the injured list.
Next. Twins fall to Royals in series finale. dark
Overall, this was a tough week for the Twins, but they’ll figure out how to bounce back after a much needed day off on Monday. So, don’t worry, Twins fans. The sky is not falling…yet.