On Saturday night, the Minnesota Twins held a 5-1 lead over the San Diego Padres in the sixth inning. Unfortunately, San Diego won the game 7-5. Jackson Merrill drove in a run on an RBI single in the sixth inning. In the seventh inning, Jake Cronenworth hit a two-run double and later scored after a missed-catch error by Brooks Lee. Ty France tacked on another run with an RBI single in the seventh. Fernando Tatis made the score 7-5 after hitting an RBI single in the eighth inning.
It was undoubtedly a rough loss for the Twins. After the game, Minnesota's record fell to 63-67. The Twins aim to avoid the sweep in the series finale on Sunday afternoon.
However, Twins fans shouldn't overreact to the loss. Sure, they have a right to be upset. But after the series wraps up today, Minnesota has a relatively easy schedule for the rest of the regular season. And, even though they are four games below .500, the Twins are just one game back of the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Guardians for the final Wild Card spot.
Twins have favorable schedule after Padres series
The Twins will begin a three-game series against the injury-plagued Athletics at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, Calif., on Monday. The Athletics currently have the worst record in MLB at 50-80.
After the Athletics series, the Twins will host the White Sox and Tigers for three games each. Then, Minnesota will hit the road for another three games against both the White Sox and Tigers.
The White Sox are a tough opponent, as they lead the American League Central with a 67-62 record. But they aren't unbeatable. Minnesota is 3-4 against Chicago this year.
The Twins are just 4 1/2 games behind the White Sox in the AL Central standings, so Minnesota will have a great opportunity to get back in the division race over the next couple of weeks. Meanwhile, the Tigers have lost seven of their last eight games.
After the crucial stretch against the Tigers and White Sox, the Twins will play these teams in order:
- Cleveland Guardians (64-66)
- New York Yankees (73-65)
- Los Angeles Angels (52-78)
- San Francisco Giants (52-77)
- Texas Rangers (64-66)
The Twins are 6-4 against the Guardians this year. It won't be a cakewalk of a series, but the Twins should be favored, especially since it'll be at Target Field. The Yankees will obviously be a tough opponent. Meanwhile, the Angels and Giants are two of the worst teams in baseball.
The Rangers series, which will be at Target Field, will be the Twins' final series of the season. Texas is one of the many teams competing for the final AL Wild Card spot, so the three-game set could decide the final seed in the AL playoffs. The Twins swept the Rangers in Texas earlier in the season.
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