Was Wednesday night the start of a miracle run to the postseason or simply delaying the inevitable? That's a quesiton that will be answered over the next few days, as the Minnesota Twins staved off elimination for at least one more day.
Minnesota's back was up against the wall after losing 4-1 to the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, one of the most embrrassing losses of the season. That didn't happen on Wednesday, although it was trending that way early.
The Twins gave up three runs in the first inning after a Jake Burger home run, but clawed back in ways we haven't seen them able to do over the last month. Trevor Larnach drove in two runs and Byron Buxton hit a game-tying home run that sparked what ended up being a 8-3 win to keep Minnesota's season alive. Griffin Jax, Jorge Alcala, Jhoan Duran and the debut of Justin Topa also helped give the bullpen some much-needed confidence as well.
It's still a dire situation, but for at least one more day the Twins can live to fight on.
Twins beat Marlins, but don't gain any ground on Tigers or Royals in AL Wild Card
While the win felt great to see, both Detroit and Kansas City winning doesn't really move the needle at all. Minnesota's win over Miami is more of a treading water situation than anything else, as the Twins didn't lose any ground but didn't gain any either.
The Twins remain two games back with four games left in the season, which narrows the margin of error but means they're still alive. Kansas City has a tough series against Atlanta coming up, one that the Braves have all the reason in the world to fight hard in which could end up benefiting the Twins greatly.
Not only that, but the weather gods might be giving Minnesota an unexpected assist. Wednesday's Mets-Braves game was rained out which means Atlanta is likely bumping up its starters; Chris Sale and Max Fried could pitch against the Royals which might end up paying off huge for the Twins.
Minnesota still needs to take care of business on its own end, though. Every game is a must-win from here on out, which won't be easy considering the final series of the season is against the Orioles. Baltimore has already clinched but could catch the Yankees for the AL East crown if New York loses out and the Orioles win out.
One more win by the Yankees ends that race, which means the Orioles would have nothing to play for in their series against the Twins.
It's still a long shot and all of the stars need to align, but the Twins aren't dead yet and they have a very clear path to slingshot their way back into the playoffs at the last minute.
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