Make It Official! Twins 5, Rangers 2: Twins Rally Late to Clinch Series

The last three games explain why I am optimistic about the Twins in October. Big plays come from the least expected places occur night after night, with the bottom three of the order breaking through tonight against a dominant Nathan Eovaldi in the 8th to start the comeback. Another great start for David Festa kept the Twins close, and the bullpen of Henriquez, Alcala and Sands shut the Rangers down to secure the win.

For all their injuries and uncertainties, the Twins after 123 games are only three games behind the best record in Major League Baseball. A healthy Correa and Buxton are necessary for a genuine run to the World Series, but they keep fighting regardless. Sellout crowds on the nine-game homestand beginning next weekend are well deserved.
 

Sands got it done atta boy. Alcalá has arrived, they clearly aren't messing around with him like they did early on.

Welcome to an elite club!!  The Twins are now 1 or 7 teams with 70 or more wins.

Sooo good to see Julien and Vasquez come up big with 0-2 hits to start the eighth. Twins have given up their share of big 0-2 hits, so it was good to see our guys come through.

Once again this spiny backed dinosaur roars through the pleasant valley of Twins Daily swinging a lethal tail of destruction toward any fan with the audacity to whisper a word of mild critique of the immaculate manager.

@Sherry Cerny Minor correction - I think you flip-flopped the pitch counts for Alcala and Henriquez. Thanks for the writeup.

56 minutes ago, wabene said:

Sands got it done atta boy. Alcalá has arrived, they clearly aren't messing around with him like they did early on.

Who would've predicted that Cole Sands would become an important and DEPENDABLE part of this pitching staff this season after two seasons of less than stellar performance?

For those not aware---Sands has put up the following numbers this season:

W-L record:  6-1

WHIP:  0.99!...this after a +1.50 last season

ERA:  3.23---a full half of a run better than last season (3.74)

Most impressive is his K to BB ratio:

64 K's over 56.67 IP------------walks for the season= 8

With my limited math skills that is an outstanding ratio of 8:1

Keep it going Cole!

I can't remember when the 1st to 7th seeds were only separated by 6 games in the loss column this late in the season.  I believe the Twins could end as the 1st or 2nd seed as well as the7th seed and missing the playoffs.  The margin for error for all of the teams is extremely narrow.  It should be an exciting finish.

63-40 since their horrible 7-13 start in April. We learned how to win tough games. 

1 hour ago, BH67 said:

For all their injuries and uncertainties, the Twins after 123 games are only three games behind the best record in Major League Baseball. 

Let us not forget that the Twins having their worst games against the 3 teams ahead of them are all that actually separates them. If they just don't get swept by the yankees and go 2-4, the Twins are .5 up. 1-2 vs BAL, Tied. 3-6 rather than 2-7 vs CLE? Tied. Obviously the games were the games, but the season is long for a reason.

At this point in the 117 games the the Twins and Yanks have played vs not each other the Twins are 70-47. The Yanks are 67-51. 

Great game and Festa was terrific. Pablo is up tomorrow and well rested. Broom time. 

Great job Sherry. Texas has pitched well but the Twins w/o Correa & Buxton plus Lewis & Miranda not excelling lately, have come through by out (small) balling them by underrated Twins players by getting clutch hits at the right time, reliable pitching & executing. Castro came through the biggest. Congratulations to Henriquez on his 1st win. Against his former team, that had to be extra sweet. 

Correa has been our best player & I didn't think we had a chance w/o him & then later w/o Buxton & Ryan. But the Twins have come through by winning close games, hitting key hits towards the end of the game showing great team effort, our SPs keeping us in the game and our RPs holding the games. I have defended the Twins' line-up when many have given up on them & they have proven to be better than I thought.

Something is wrong with Lewis.  You can see it with his hitting and his defense.

It looks like he can't get his legs working together, and it hampers all his baseball moves, especially throwing across the diamond and trying to hit for power.

He's been hitting a lot of weak ground balls to the left side.  And his throws just look pathetic.

Meanwhile his average and OPS are sinking, while his defense tumbles below average.

Great kid, unlimited potential, but, at this point, he may need a break.

With Mahle pitching tomorrow, I assume his arm will fall off in the 3rd inning.

4 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

Can’t be too cocky - pretty sure that after 2 deep starts his ERA is sub 2.00? Just hoping for a W.

Just make him throw strikes. He will nibble his way to a bloated pitch count.

That was another nerve wracking intense game last night but huge huge huge win!!! Let’s get the sweep!!! Go twins!!!