Week in Review: Walking a Tightrope

[Nick Nelson]

The Minnesota Twins played a bunch of very close games last week. Even when you're going well, that can be a dangerous dance, as they learned in suffering three straight one-run losses that sullied an otherwise strong stretch and widened their division deficit behind the unstoppable Cleveland Guardians.

Image courtesy of Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 6/17 through Sun, 6/23
***
Record Last Week: 3-3 (Overall: 43-35)
Run Differential Last Week: +9 (Overall: +25)
Standing: 2nd Place in AL Central (7.5 GB) 

Last Week's Game Results:

Game 73 | MIN 7, TB 6: Santana Delivers Pinch-Hit Walk-Off Single
Game 74 | TB 3, MIN 2: Lewis Homers, But Error in 10th Proves Costly
Game 75 | TB 7, MIN 6: Twins Fall in Extras Again Despite Miranda Magic
Game 76 | OAK 6, MIN 5: Duran Blows Lead in Another One-Run Loss
Game 77 | MIN 10, OAK 2: Offense Takes Off as Ober Cruises to CG
Game 78 | MIN 3, OAK 0: López Electric, Buck Bashes in Victory

IF YOU'D RATHER LISTEN TO THE WEEK IN REVIEW THAN READ IT, YOU CAN NOW FIND IT IN PODCAST FORM. GET THE LATEST EPISODE HERE. ALSO AVAILABLE ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY.

NEWS & NOTES

Jay Jackson, we hardly knew ye. Again. The team's decision to recall Jackson and re-add him to the 40-man roster, such a short time after designating him for assignment with a 6.85 ERA, was curious. Barely a week after returning to the fold, the veteran right-hander was DFA'ed once again, allowing five earned runs and three homers in four innings during his latest stint.

There was little reason to expect much different from Jackson this time around, given that his untenable velocity was lower, not higher, during his brief time at Triple-A. Cycling back to him was a strange call by the front office, and a costly one: Jackson coughed up three runs in Thursday's 7-6 loss to Tampa before being sent out.

Brought back to fill Jackson's vacant spot was Kody Funderburk, giving the Twins three lefties in the bullpen, for now. The relief corps is in a bit of a fluid state with Caleb Thielbar and his 7.71 ERA still on the roster, albeit now reserved for the lowest-leverage situations possible. Brock Stewart, who's been on the injured list since the beginning of May, still has no return date in sight.

At the beginning of last week, Alex Kirilloff joined Stewart on the IL following an odd turn of events. The Twins had previously announced they were optioning Kirilloff to Triple-A, but reversed that decision when it was revealed that the struggling 26-year-old was dealing with a back injury, which apparently had not been communicated well. Not a great look. It's unclear what the timeline is for AK to get back on the field, but he'll surely do so in St. Paul when he's ready.

HIGHLIGHTS

Royce Lewis might as well build a home in this section of our weekly recap; it doesn't look like he'll be going anywhere. The third baseman amusingly claimed "slumps aren't a real thing for me" last week while somehow managing to keep on backing up that ridiculous notion. Not only has Lewis avoided lapsing into anything resembling a slump, but he keeps on crushing home runs and tracking toward the best start to a career in franchise history.

After starting both ends of last Sunday's doubleheader, Lewis got the nod in all six of Minnesota's games last week, another highly encouraging sign for his health. He started three times at third and three times at DH, finishing 7-for-25 with three more homers. Lewis received his first intentional walk of the season on Wednesday but it probably won't be his last. 

 

Carlos Correa cooled down a bit following one of the best weeks in his career, but still managed to produce a pair of three-hit games, doubling and walking twice with just three strikeouts. Willi Castro remains an everyday force in the lineup, wherever he's playing defensively: he went 9-for-24 with five doubles and a big three-run homer. Carlos Santana has quietly been one of the best hitters in baseball this month, and kept on clicking with an 8-for-21 week that included two doubles and a home run.

 

José Miranda went 7-for-22 with two doubles, as well as a home run that could've been one of the biggest of the season for the Twins: a game-tying three-run shot while down to their last strike on Thursday. Unfortunately, his teammates couldn't get it done in an extra-innings loss. Miranda has the second-best OPS on the team behind Correa this season, and has been nothing short of a godsend for the lineup.

While I wouldn't necessarily call him a godsend, Austin Martin has been a heck of an addition since replacing Kirilloff on the roster. I wondered about his functional redundancy with Manuel Margot, but Martin has proven plenty useful. He found his way into five of six games last week, starting four, and went 6-for-14 with three walks, two steals and four runs scored. 

At a time where every remotely non-essential position player on the Twins roster needs to be continually justifying his spot, with a few hitters loudly making their cases in Triple-A, Martin is among those answering the call, and so is Margot. It's been awesome to see all these bats come alive.

Also worth filing under "awesome to see": Bailey Ober's dazzling performance on Saturday in Oakland. It's been a bumpy ride this year for the big righty, who was hoping to take the next step atop the Twins rotation, but he's been dialed in for his past two turns against Oakland, lowering his ERA from 5.13 to 4.50 on the season.

In his latest start he put together one of the most efficient complete games you'll ever see, working around a pair of solo homers to get through nine innings of two-run ball with 10 strikeouts on just 89 pitches. After setting a season high with 16 swings and misses in his previous start, Ober got 20 whiffs in this one. Granted, both these outings came against a fairly poor A's lineup, but not every Twins pitcher has looked so effective against Oakland. Exciting stuff from Ober. 

 

On Sunday, Pablo López followed up on Ober's statement start with a big one of his own, putting together one of the most dominant performances of his career against the Athletics. With his fastball touching 97 MPH, López struck out 14 hitters over eight shutout innings, holding Oakland's lineup to one walk and pair of singles. 

López had struggled in his first start of the week, allowing five earned runs in four innings against Tampa, and he came into Sunday with an 8.49 ERA over his past six starts. So suffice to say, this breakthrough was much-needed, and lovely to see.

 

LOWLIGHTS

Chris Paddack is going off the rails in worrisome fashion, and looks to be in need of a break. He made his second consecutive ugly start against the Athletics on Friday night, once again battling with command and diminished stuff. His fastball velocity dropping down to the 90-91 MPH range, and his command wavering, Paddack got through 4 ⅔ innings. He was lucky to allow only three earned runs on five hits and three walks, after failing to get through three frames in his previous home start against Oakland.

The right-hander's workload management has been a big topic of conversation, coming off his second Tommy John surgery, and that will only ramp up if his performance continues to trend this way, with a 7.79 ERA in four June starts. Louie Varland, who might've been in line to step in for Paddack in the near future, unfortunately experienced a nightmare outing for the Saints on Sunday, allowing 11 earned runs on five homers in 2 ⅓ innings.

Could Varland be rerouted back into a relief role for the second half? It's now worth asking more than ever. His ongoing troubles as a starter seems to call for a change, and the state of the Twins bullpen may also play a role in making the argument. Aside from Griffin Jax, who's been among the league's finest relief arms, it's tough to feel much confidence in Rocco Baldelli's array of options right now. 

Twins relievers not named Jax allowed nine earned runs in 14 ⅓ innings (5.65 ERA), and the bullpen was tagged with losses in all three games where Minnesota came up short. Granted, they weren't given much margin for error, but these were not the highest-quality opponents. 

Jhoan Durán's brutal outing on Friday was most concerning of the bunch: Entering to pitch the eighth, he hit leadoff man Tyler Soderstrom with a pitch, then served up a two-run homer on the first pitch to Shea Langeliers, turning a one-run lead into a deficit in the blink of an eye.

 

The command and the stuff continue to lag for Durán, whose xERA is up by more than a run from last year (2.60 to 3.65). His strikeout rate is down a full 10 percentage points, from 32.9% in 2023 (96th percentile) to an average-ish 22.8%. He seems to have minimal trust in his fastball – with good reason, as opponents are hitting .320 with a .403 xwOBA against it – and his overall arsenal just doesn't work that well without the big heater setting the tone.

I'm not sure what's to be done about that, if he's indeed healthy, other than keep hoping he can fight his way through these ostensible mechanical issues, perhaps in a relatively lower-leverage role. On that note, it's worth pointing out that Jax, not Durán, got the three-run save opportunity on Sunday. But the Twins don't really have the luxury of using Durán anywhere other than key spots, especially so long as Stewart remains sidelined.

TRENDING STORYLINE

Big hitters are on deck in St. Paul, and they are waiting for their chances to step up to the plate at Target Field. Last week we talked about the ridiculous run that Matt Wallner has been on for the Saints; he launched two more homers last week, although he also struck out 14 times. It's the top prospect Brooks Lee who is now fiercely knocking on the door for a big-league chance, after going 10-for-22 with three doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs in five games.

Lee has a 1.017 OPS through 14 total games with the Saints, mixing in strong plate discipline and sharp defense around the infield. He made his first start of the season at second base on Thursday, perhaps setting the stage for him to eventually factor in at that position for the Twins.

He needs to wait his turn, with the Twins infield thoroughly fortified at the moment. But it's invigorating to see Lee immediately thriving after a two-month absence, and putting himself in position for a debut as soon as the opportunity arises. His presence provides a comforting safety net behind some of Minnesota's most critical pieces. With Correa, Lewis, Miranda and Castro carrying so much of the load offensively, it's really nice to know there's a guy like Lee on hand who could step into any of their roles in the event of an injury.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Twins will remain out west as their road trip rolls on with stops in Arizona and Seattle. The D-backs are a fairly mediocre sub-.500 team this year following their charmed World Series run in 2023, but the Mariners will present a real test for these Twins, who have played at nearly a 110-win pace outside of their 0-14 record against the three top teams in the American League (NYY, BAL, CLE). 

Seattle currently leads the AL West with the most wins in the AL outside of those three, so the Twins can buoy the case for their legitimacy with a strong showing against the Mariners, from whom they took two of three at Target Field back in early May.

Thursday's game will be the 81st of the season, marking the official halfway point.

TUESDAY, JUNE 25: TWINS @ DIAMONDBACKS – RHP Joe Ryan v. RHP Brandon Pfaadt
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26: TWINS @ DIAMONDBACKS – RHP Simeon Woods Richardson v. RHP Ryne Nelson
THURSDAY, JUNE 27: TWINS @ DIAMONDBACKS – RHP Chris Paddack v. LHP Jordan Montgomery
FRIDAY, JUNE 28: TWINS @ MARINERS – RHP Bailey Ober v. RHP Logan Gilbert
SATURDAY, JUNE 29: TWINS @ MARINERS – RHP Pablo Lopez v. RHP Bryce Miller
SUNDAY, JUNE 30: TWINS @ MARINERS – RHP Joe Ryan v. RHP Bryan Woo

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[h2oface]

Seems a waste of time for Brooks Lee to "wait his turn". A waste of time and offense. Are we waiting for him to get hurt in AAA ball?

Pace. There is no pace. Just streaks, and all the games count. And if there was a pace, it changes after each game, and you can't throw out just a few teams that are mostly losses.

[wabene]

Ryan Jeffers got in 3 games last week going 3 for 11 with 2 RBI, 2 runs and a walk. He had a hit in each game. A step in the right direction. They eased his workload some, hopefully the mini break will get him going again, it's been a rough month.

[Peter]

Got a much needed series win to start road trip!!! Only way to catch Cleveland is beat them head to head. Just make playoffs is all that matters!!!

[Riverbrian]

11 hours ago, Nick Nelson said:

While I wouldn't necessarily call him a godsend, Austin Martin has been a heck of an addition since replacing Kirilloff on the roster. I wondered about his functional redundancy with Manuel Margot, but Martin has proven plenty useful. He found his way into five of six games last week, starting four, and went 6-for-14 with three walks, two steals and four runs scored. 

At a time where every remotely non-essential position player on the Twins roster needs to be continually justifying his spot, with a few hitters loudly making their cases in Triple-A, Martin is among those answering the call, and so is Margot. It's been awesome to see all these bats come alive.

Since Martin was called up on June 13. (10 Games - Austin has started 6 of them)

The Twins have faced 7 right handed starters and 3 left handed starters. 

Austin has made zero starters against left handed starters. He has started 6 of the 7 starts vs RH. He's being reverse split to cover for the collapse of almost our entire left handed hitting group of specialists. Rocco has basically made him a left handed hitter from the right handed batters box. 

In 25 PA's since being called up - Martin has gone 10 for 22 -- OPS 1,020. 

VS. RH - 22 PA's - 8 for 19 - OPS .974

VS LH - 3 PA's - 2 for 3 - OPS .1,333

As for the call answering of Margot. Over the same 10 games. Margot has started 6 of them. 

All 3 of the games started by left handers and 3 of the 7 games started by right handers. 

In the past 30 days Margot has answered the call to the tune of:  .288 BA - OPS .823... Looks good answering the call. 

However: 

Vs LH in the past 30 days - 28 PA's - .440 BA - OPS 1.180

vs RH in the past 30 days - 40 PA's - .176 - OPS .565

Margot still needs to be sheltered from right hander pitchers. He is still facing more right handers than left handers. 

Back to Martin... I can't believe I'm saying this but I am. 

I sure hope Rocco lets the right handed hitter face left handed pitching! 

 

 

 

 

[stringer bell]

With Martin on the team, the pieces don't fit together quite as seamlessly. He is doing well in the role he has been given and actually it bodes well for everyday play if he can continue to more than hold his own against same-handed pitching. 

I'm still not sold on Margot as a platoon/fourth outfielder, but the numbers have improved. 

[Doctor Gast]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

Since Martin was called up on June 13. (10 Games - Austin has started 6 of them)

The Twins have faced 7 right handed starters and 3 left handed starters. 

Austin has made zero starters against left handed starters. He has started 6 of the 7 starts vs RH. He's being reverse split to cover for the collapse of almost our entire left handed hitting group of specialists. Rocco has basically made him a left handed hitter from the right handed batters box. 

In 25 PA's since being called up - Martin has gone 10 for 22 -- OPS 1,020. 

VS. RH - 22 PA's - 8 for 19 - OPS .974

VS LH - 3 PA's - 2 for 3 - OPS .1,333

As for the call answering of Margot. Over the same 10 games. Margot has started 6 of them. 

All 3 of the games started by left handers and 3 of the 7 games started by right handers. 

In the past 30 days Margot has answered the call to the tune of:  .288 BA - OPS .823... Looks good answering the call. 

However: 

Vs LH in the past 30 days - 28 PA's - .440 BA - OPS 1.180

vs RH in the past 30 days - 40 PA's - .176 - OPS .565

Margot still needs to be sheltered from right hander pitchers. He is still facing more right handers than left handers. 

Back to Martin... I can't believe I'm saying this but I am. 

I sure hope Rocco lets the right handed hitter face left handed pitching! 

 

 

 

 

You took the words out of mouth Brian! I think that it's ridiculous that (RH) Martin isn't played against LHPs, where (RH) Margot & Farmer only play against LHPs & even (SH) Santana plays extensively against LHPs. IMO it's a waste & these guys are lauded & Martin is underrated because he's not put in a situation to explode. Martin can far outproduce these guys if allowed. IMO we need to trade these guys to make room for our guys. Braves need a OFer, trade them Margot. Astros need a 1Bman, trade them Santana.

[Karbo]

I would skip Paddack this turn to give him and his arm a little break. With the off day the rest of the staff would stay on normal days of rest. 

[LambchoP]

I think Martin should be replacing Margot the rest of the way, recent hot streak not with standing. Maybe we can get something for him in a trade now. Call up Wallner and Lee. Move Paddack to the BP. Varland too. Give Festa a spot in the rotation for a few spot starts. Move Zebby to St Paul. Theilbar needs to go as well, and then look to grab a leverage lefty at the deadline.

[Doctor Gast]

I don't understand why in the getaway with a good TB, the Twins devasted their left side. No Correa at SS, no Lewis at 3B & no Castro at LF. Instead of resting these guys for a home game, why not rest these guys separately on away OAK games? And try to win the rubber game. The game was winnable, with the win we'd have won the series plus we'd have entered the OAK series more confident to sweep the series & erase that bad loss there. We'd be in a much better position going into AZ & SEA

[Riverbrian]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

You took the words out of mouth Brian! I think that it's ridiculous that (RH) Martin isn't played against LHPs, where (RH) Margot & Farmer only play against LHPs & even (SH) Santana plays extensively against LHPs. IMO it's a waste & these guys are lauded & Martin is underrated because he's not put in a situation to explode. Martin can far outproduce these guys if allowed. IMO we need to trade these guys to make room for our guys. Braves need a OFer, trade them Margot. Astros need a 1Bman, trade them Santana.

As for Santana over the past 30 days. 

98 Plate Appearances - 16 for 83 (5HR's) BA - .325 - OPS 1.007

Vs RH - 72 PA's - 20 for 60 (3HR's) BA - .333 - OPS 1.011

Vs LH - 26 PA's - 7 for 23 (2HR's) BA - .304 - OPS .993

We are talking small sample sizes of course. Santana joined our club in the off-season with recent low stats against right handers.

However, for the month of June in the year 2024 at least. Carlos Santana has been fantastic and I'd like him to keep playing as long as he is playing fantastic. Do I expect him to keep going at this pace? I don't... However... let him play as long as he is playing well.

Margot on the other hand... Based on his career against Right Handers, Based on how he has done against right handers this year and based on how he is currently doing in this small sample size of the last 30 days... He can be replaced by a left handed hitter at any time.  

After the off-season concluded. I questioned if it made sense to keep Polanco instead of spending the Polanco money on Santana, Margot and DeSclafini. This is how I felt on opening day.  

It's June 2024... With hindsight at my disposal... I still wonder if it made sense to spend money on Margot and DeSclafini and I will add Farmer to that group. That's 14 million that could have been spent on somebody else.

However... I'm going to take Santana off my list of off-season money spent concerns for the moment since he has out performed Polanco to this point. 

The front office doesn't get to use hindsight and neither do I though.

Ultimately my concern remains the commitment made to players who specialize in hitting left handed pitching. I think the front office over did it and is going to have maneuver around it. Which they've done pretty good considering that we are currently in playoff position.  

 

 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Provided Cleveland’s first half is not a mirage, and Cleveland does win the division, the Twins still have an excellent chance at a wild card. They could even stumble backwards into it. 

I think the Twins competition for 1 of the 2 final wild card spots would be Boston and the two AL West teams, currently Houston and Texas. Maybe KC but I don’t think KC is ripe. This is the worst Tampa Bay team since 2007 (edit: except for 2016 I guess) and Toronto is somehow an underachieving mess again. Baseball Reference has the Twins at 77.5 percent to make the postseason and that sounds about right. 

[stringer bell]

Big picture: the Twins still project to be a high 80s, low 90s win team, but it is looking more and more like it is "one of those years" where everything is going Cleveland's way, so to make the postseason, the Twins will have to claim a wildcard and advance the hard way, beating a really good team in their building. 

The rotation has been up-and-down, but the hitting is improved. We're not quite halfway through the season, but the second quarter of the season has seen the club stay pretty healthy--they have used the IL once (Kirilloff) since the first week of May. Expect more injuries to crop up in the next quarter of the season, probably making promotions from Triple A a bit easier and based on who the player will be replacing. 

Paddack would seem to be the most likely to be replaced in the rotation, he's had the fewest good starts and has the worst overall statistics. 

[USAFChief]

4 hours ago, Karbo said:

I would skip Paddack this turn to give him and his arm a little break. With the off day the rest of the staff would stay on normal days of rest. 

It doesn't work that way. If you skip Paddack completely, you'd need to bring Ryan back on three days rest Saturday, and SWR on three days rest Sunday. They're not going to do that.

An option would be to push Paddack's next start back two days, from Thursday to Saturday. That moves Ober and Lopez's next start up a day, to the normal four days off instead of five. It gives Paddack a seven day break and brings Ryan back Sunday on his normal four days rest.

They could also keep this week as scheduled, and use Monday July 2nd's off day to skip  a Paddack start if they wait. 

But they can't, as of now, just skip Paddack's start this Thursday. 

[KirbyDome89]

"who have played at nearly a 110-win pace outside of their 0-14 record against the three top teams in the American League (NYY, BAL, CLE)."

The Twins are 16-1 against the dregs (Chicago, Oakland & LAA) of the AL. I'm guessing their pace sucks if we're throwing those games out instead....

[ashbury]

Looks like Jackson is accepting the minor league assignment.  No surprise, he'd have to be pretty mad at the team to take a pay cut to play somewhere else.  Not that $1.3M (plus the $200K buyout) the Twins are on the hook for is that huge, but money is money and the difference is a lot to walk away from.

[JD-TWINS]

10 hours ago, stringer bell said:

With Martin on the team, the pieces don't fit together quite as seamlessly. He is doing well in the role he has been given and actually it bodes well for everyday play if he can continue to more than hold his own against same-handed pitching. 

I'm still not sold on Margot as a platoon/fourth outfielder, but the numbers have improved. 

MLB Network this morning backed up stats shown above here as they were praising Margot’s last 30 games - .830 OPS ……MLB average OPS is down this year to .706 at this point.

Until he slumps across the board AND Kirilloff/Wallner/Lee/Julien push their way on to the 26-man ……Margot is the guy. If Lee or Julien are heated up enough offensively to play 2B they’ll move Castro to LF in a heartbeat.

Somebody's gotta step-up to displace Martin - Farmer - Margot. All 3 of them are playing pretty well right now.

Farmer has OPS+ of 88, 92, & 100 from ‘21-‘23 and his BA’s have been .263, .255, & .256 in those same 3 years. I still have confidence that he can get back to League average by Sept. 1st (.240) …….he’s only 33, can’t be toast yet.

[JD-TWINS]

3 hours ago, ashbury said:

Looks like Jackson is accepting the minor league assignment.  No surprise, he'd have to be pretty mad at the team to take a pay cut to play somewhere else.  Not that $1.3M (plus the $200K buyout) the Twins are on the hook for is that huge, but money is money and the difference is a lot to walk away from.

Can’t imagine he’d get any other opportunities other than a possible minor league deal…..he’d be risking $900K - $1M.

I really don’t want to see him in the roster again.

[JD-TWINS]

4 hours ago, ashbury said:

Looks like Jackson is accepting the minor league assignment.  No surprise, he'd have to be pretty mad at the team to take a pay cut to play somewhere else.  Not that $1.3M (plus the $200K buyout) the Twins are on the hook for is that huge, but money is money and the difference is a lot to walk away from.

Can’t imagine he’d get any other opportunities other than a possible minor league deal…..he’d be risking $900K - $1M.

I really don’t want to see him in the roster again.

[JD-TWINS]

Regarding Paddack & rest:

Does he have any options? Do not think so.

He could get a breather from this week’s start until after the All-star Break. He could go on IL with arm fatigue or some associated ill & Festa could throw at home against the Tigers on the 3rd and Varland could throw the 8th in Chicago………one option. Many ways to get him a break. Assuming a skipped start for SWR wouldn’t hurt either to get him closer to 10 days off through the Break.

[RpR]

40 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

MLB Network this morning backed up stats shown above here as they were praising Margot’s last 30 games - .830 OPS ……MLB average OPS is down this year to .706 at this point.

Until he slumps across the board AND Kirilloff/Wallner/Lee/Julien push their way on to the 26-man ……Margot is the guy. If Lee or Julien are heated up enough offensively to play 2B they’ll move Castro to LF in a heartbeat.

Somebody's gotta step-up to displace Martin - Farmer - Margot. All 3 of them are playing pretty well right now.

Farmer has OPS+ of 88, 92, & 100 from ‘21-‘23 and his BA’s have been .263, .255, & .256 in those same 3 years. I still have confidence that he can get back to League average by Sept. 1st (.240) …….he’s only 33, can’t be toast yet.

Some have wondered how the Twins  get bye with only two catchers, Farmer caught in Pro-Ball as recently as 2019.

[JD-TWINS]

18 minutes ago, RpR said:

Some have wondered how the Twins  get bye with only two catchers, Farmer caught in Pro-Ball as recently as 2019.

He’s the emergency guy, came up as Catcher with Dodgers - I live in Cincinnati so am pretty familiar with him - good guy - needs a HOT streak!

[ashbury]

38 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Can’t imagine he’d get any other opportunities other than a possible minor league deal…..he’d be risking $900K - $1M.

I really don’t want to see him in the roster again.

Wonder which AAA team has the highest payroll this year?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

6 hours ago, KirbyDome89 said:

"who have played at nearly a 110-win pace outside of their 0-14 record against the three top teams in the American League (NYY, BAL, CLE)."

The Twins are 16-1 against the dregs (Chicago, Oakland & LAA) of the AL. I'm guessing their pace sucks if we're throwing those games out instead....

Even with 110 wins, the Twins still wouldn’t catch Cleveland and their 111-win pace! (because you need to throw out their games against Houston & Atlanta)