The Minnesota Twins have gotten off to an ugly start in the Philadelphia Phillies series. In the Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa, on Thursday, the Phillies won 7-1. After a day off on Friday, Minnesota lost 9-1 to Philadelphia at Target Field on Saturday. The finale is slated to begin at 1:10 p.m. CDT on Sunday.
While the Twins are still very much alive in the postseason race, sitting just one game back of the Texas Rangers for the final American League Wild Card spot, the Phillies series exposes one grim reality: even if the Twins surprisingly make it to the World Series, they will likely be overmatched.
Minnesota certainly could sneak in as the final Wild Card team. As of now, there's a solid chance any team in the American League, except for the Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels and Athletics, could make the playoffs. The Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers are all half a game out of the last Wild Card position. The Cleveland Guardians are just a game out, and the Seattle Mariners are three games back of Texas.
The National League is much better than the American League
The Phillies series highlights how much better the National League is than the American League. The Twins are 13-25 against the National League this year. Against the American League, Minnesota is 47-39.
Even though the Twins have struggled lately, few teams in the American League seem much better than them. The Chicago White Sox (64-58), the Houston Astros (63-61) and all the teams in the running for the final Wild Card spot appear beatable for Minnesota.
The Tampa Bay Rays (74-48) are a tough team to beat, and a fully healthy New York Yankees (68-55) team is a daunting opponent. The Red Sox (66-57) have struggled lately, and the Twins won the season series against them, but they went 20-4 in July, proving they could be a very tough club to beat in October.
Still, the Yankees, Rays and Red Sox don't seem as tough to beat as the top teams in the National League. The Rays may have the second-best record in the league, but they've had the luxury of playing in the weak American League.
The top six run-scoring offenses in MLB (Nationals, Cubs, Pirates, Dodgers, Brewers, and Braves) are all in the National League.
Can the Twins make the playoffs? Sure. They could even win a series or two. But once they have to play one of the top teams in the American League, it's tough to imagine they could come out victorious. And if they shockingly reached the World Series, they would likely be completely overmatched.
But at the end of the day, anything can happen in baseball. This Twins team has proved its resilience all season long, so it isn't time to lose hope just yet.
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