The Minnesota Twins have started off their season well, going 11-8 and are in the midst of a seven game winning streak. The pitching has been tremendous, the defense has been solid, and the team’s bats are finally starting to come around. With that being said, there are concerns.
For starters, the Twins have struggled against good teams. The Twins started off the season with six games against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners, two teams that have combined to start 23-14 this year. The Twins went 2-4 in those games, which is disappointing.
In addition, Jorge Polanco, Carlos Correa, Caleb Thielbar, Miguel Sano, and Ryan Jeffers have all been sluggish to start the year. With those guys struggling, the offense has disappointed right away.
The Minnesota Twins have a big series coming up this weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays.
A chance to help quash these concerns comes this weekend, with the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend. Why is this a good opportunity? For starters, the Rays are a true contender that’s one of the deepest teams in baseball. If the Twins can get it going against them, they can compete against anybody.
At 11-8, the Rays are third in their division but sit as the third wild card in a packed American League East. That might not seem like much, but they’ve faced one of the toughest schedules in baseball thus far. Their games against the Twins are big for them too, so we break down the series ahead, starting with the pitching matchups.