The rubber is meeting the road in the home stretch of the season, but the Minnesota Twins have suddenly veered onto the shoulder and are in danger of going off the road completely.
Minnesota is coming off a series sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, a good team that the Twins should have beaten at least once. Instead, we saw all the terrible hallmarks of what held the team back last year as the spicy pep in the team's step late in games has been replaced by a squad that looks completely gassed.
The bullpen is useless, Minnesota's best players are either slumping or not playing, and the team is falling further back in the playoff race. August was a mixed bag which puts even more pressure on the Twins figuring it out in September before there's no distance left to run.
Updated AL Playoff standings after Twins get embarrassed by Braves
Cleveland avoided getting swept by Kansas City this week, which mercifully put them back in first place. It's a house of cards, though, as the Royals own the season series tiebreaker over the Guardians which means they'd win the AL Central in the event both teams have the same record at the end of the season.
None of that helps the Twins, as the window is quickly closing for Minnesota to capitalize on Cleveland and Kansas City beating each other up while leaving a backdoor to the top of the division open.
Seed | Team | Proj. Finish |
|---|---|---|
1 | New York Yankees | AL East winner |
2 | Cleveland Guardians | AL Central winner |
3 | Houston Astros | AL West winner |
4 | Baltimore Orioles | Wild Card 1 |
5 | Kansas City Royals | Wild Card 2 |
6 | Minnesota Twins | Wild Card 3 |
Right now the Twins control their own destiny, which means if they can just stay out of their own way then a playoff ticket will be punched. Boston and Detroit cannot catch Minnesota unless a collapse occurs -- which is the gentle hum of anxiety hanging over everything in Twins Territory right now.
Latest AL Wild Card standings (Updated August 29th)
Team | Record | GB |
|---|---|---|
Baltimore Orioles | 77-56 | — |
Kansas City Royals | 75-59 | — |
Minnesota Twins | 72-61 | — |
Boston Red Sox | 69-64 | 3 |
Detroit Tigers | 68-66 | 4.5 |
Seattle Mariners | 68-66 | 4.5 |
The good news is there's still an entire month of baseball left, and the Twins should be getting two of their best players back. Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton are expected to return at some point in September, as is rookie Brooks Lee.
Getting those three players back could be a game changer for Minnesota, but it doesn't fix everything. Ideally they return before a critical four-game series against the Guardians in mid-September which could ultimately make-or-break the Twins' season.
Until then, they just need to find a way to stop from sinking too far down the standings.
MLB Postseason bracket if the season ended today
Here's how the first round would look if things stayed this way the remainder of the season:
- (3) Houston Astros vs. (6) Minnesota Twins
- (4) Baltimore Orioles vs. (5) Kansas City Royals
That's not a great draw for the Twins, as it would involve not only playing the Astros but going on the road to do it. Houston has ended Minnesota's last two trips to the postseason, and based on how the team is currently being held together by duct tape and a wad of bubblegum, it's feeling like things might go the same way a third time.
Of course, Twins fans need to start looking in the rearview more diligently given the Wild Card standings. If things keep going they way they are now, Minnesota won't have to worry about losing to Houston in the first round because there won't be a trip to October at all.
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