AL Wild Card standings: Twins win over Red Sox gets them some valuable breathing room

A miserable month of baseball had beaten the Minnesota Twins down the standings, but not out of the playoff picture. Despite how bad things have been recently, the Twins still control their own desinty and reminded everyone of that on Friday night in Boston.

The Twins gutted out a huge 4-2 win over the Red Sox, a game that needed extra innings but featured a huge performance by Minnesota’s bullpen.

After sinking to nearly becoming the worst bullpen in baseball, Twins relievers pitched seven scoreless innings on Friday, striking out 14 hitters and allowing only five hits in a win that the team desperately needed. Minnesota dropped three of its last four games in a brutal series against the Guardians, one that saw Cleveland punch a playoff ticket on its rival’s watch.

That wasn’t the same team that showed up at Fenway on Friday, and it’s a big reason why the Twins now have some valuable breathing room in the playoff picture.

AL Wild Card standings after Twins 4-2 win over Red Sox on Friday

Minnesota’s win over Boston came alongside Detroit getting blown out by Baltimore. Coming into the night the Twins and Tigers were tied for the final Wild Card spot, but now there’s a one-game gap between them.

It’s technically a two game lead, as the Twins own a tiebreaker over Detroit after winning the season series.

Making matters even better, and potentially more chaotic, was the Royals losing as well. That means the Twins are just a game behind Kansas City, a team they also own a tiebreaker over, for the second Wild Card spot.

Here’s how things stand after Friday night:

What shouldn’t be overlooked in all of this is that the best thing that happened on Friday was the Twins securing a final Infinity Stone in its tiebreaker gauntlet. By beating Boston, the Twins own a tiebreaker over the Red Sox by way of a better divisional record.

Even if the Red Sox win the next two games and the season series is split even, the Twins would have the edge in the standings. Minnesota can simplify this by winning either one or both of its remaining games against Boston, something that needs to happen for other reasons outside of outright owning a tiebreaker.

Things have been bad for the Twins over the last 40 days, but the next eight games could erase a ton of stress. Minnesota is back in the lead for a Wild Card spot and played the kind of game on Friday that goes a long way in building confidence for October.

A lot of work needs to be done, and the playoff picture is hardly set, but the Twins are firmly in the thick of things as we get down to the wire.

More Minnesota Twins news and rumors