Twins News: Rally sausage returns, losing streak ends, updated Wild Card standings

Just when it seemed the Minnesota Twins season was lost, a miracle occured that almost nobody saw coming but everyone instantly appreciated. No, it wasn't some magical lineup alteration or brilliant managerial move; the Twins Rally Sausage returned like a character showing up in the series finale of a show.

That's essentially where we're at with the season, as there are only a few weeks left and Minnesota is running out of time to turn things around. The return of the Rally Sausage couldn't come at a better -- or more desperate -- time for the Twins, and the vibes it brings along are exactly what the team needs.

During the first run of the sausage, the Twins completely flipped the script on a bad start to the season. After limping out to a 7-13 start, Minnesota ripped off a 12-game winning streak and the offense came to life in ways we hadn't seen before.

That's why the sausage returning now matters. Nobody actually believes it holds some mystically meaty powers that magically make a team better. What it represents, though, is the clubhouse vibes shifting from being so bad that Rocco Baldelli needed to call a fiery closed door meeting to being fun again.

Hopefully the vibes stick, because the Twins are running out of time to get things right before October.

Twins finally end their four-game losing streak at the exact right time

While the power of the sausage was undeniably strong on Tuesday, so was the Twins offense. For the first time this month it felt like how things were over the summer when everything was going right. Kyle Farmer and Matt Wallner both combined for three home runs, while Carlos Santana got in on the fun with a home run of his own.

Minnesota's offense was on fire, which was a sight for sore eyes. The Twins had been outscored 11-2 over their last three games which is a trend that has extended beyond that. Coming into Tuesday the Twins had lost 16 of their last 21 games and looked completely lifeless in a loss on Monday.

It's a small sample size, but the way things flipped on Tuesday is encouraging. One of the ways the Twins were able to have such a great summer of success was the offense's ablity to negate some of the pitching mistakes that were made, which was the case again in the win over the Angels.

Pablo Lopez pitched seven innings and logged a win, but had a brutal fifth inning that saw him allow four runs. Edouard Julien had a tough throwing error that helped spark the rally by Los Angeles and Lopez filled his frustrating mandate for home runs allowed in a game.

Still, the Twins won thanks to an offensive explosion that resulted in 10 runs, a trend that couldn't be starting -- at least hopefully starting -- at a better time.

Updated AL Wild Card standings (September 11th)

The reason for all the excitement about hte rally sausage returning and the losing streak ending is due to how dire things are in the Wild Card standings. It wasn't that long ago the Twins were within striking distance of a first-round bye, but now they're clinging to a slim lead for the final spot in the postseason.

Minnesota caught a bit of a break on Tuesday, though.

A Twins win was coupled with losses by both the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners, which stretched Minnesota's lead over them to four games. Technically it's a five game lead for the Twins over Seattle, as they own the season series and therefore the tiebreaker.

Detroit looked really sharp against Colorado, though, which means the Twins didn't gain any distance there.

Next week is shaping up to be a make-or-break. Minnesota begins a four game series with the Guardians on Monday and ends the week with a three game series against Boston. This means the Twins can not only put Boston down in the Wild Card race, but could end up with the AL Central lead or the No. 4 seed when the final week of the season arrives.

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