No Longer Roadkill? Notes from my Month as a Twins Roadie

I wrote in the pre-season about how the Twins 2022 road record doomed their playoff hopes, despite carrying a division lead for much of the season. The 2023 Twins squad faced a daunting opening travel schedule, with the opening week of the season taking them 1,900 miles to Kansas City and Miami without an off-day in between. Just six days later they hit the road again, journeying 1,500 miles to New York and Boston with the off-day being Boston Marathon/Patriot Day, which led to the team spending the flex time in New York instead of at the second series site.

The road schedule couldn’t have started any better. The Twins drew substantial fan support at Kansas City, and they swept the Royals with great pitching and timely hitting. Any jet lag that might have journeyed to Miami with the team got blasted away by a few bombas and even some SKOL chants from the traveling Twins faithful, and the Twins were 4-0 to start the season. Since that hot start, the Twins have struggled in opposing stadiums, going 3-6 the rest of the month.

So what went right, what went wrong, and how do these trends play into a month of May where Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles x2, and Houston await the Twins baseball caravan?

What Went Right
Starting Pitching – Without a doubt, the key to April’s winning road record started with the starters. Especially in the Kansas City series, the Twins’ ability to pitch shutouts in the first two games, and then hold the Royals to only one run until the game was well in hand served to deliver the sweep. The remaining wins on the road saw the opposing team score one, two, three, and four runs respectively. Two of the losses involved starters holding the opponent to two runs or less.

Big Innings Early – Each road series saw the Twins win a game where they dropped a three-spot or larger in an early inning. If the road team is going to have any advantage, its when you can get on the board early and often. Sometimes it came through homeruns, sometimes it was small ball. Inevitably, it resulted in a victory.

Reversing the Curse – The first inning at Yankee Stadium will go down in history as one of the best innings in Twins history. Edouard Julien led off with his first MLB hit, and got the chance to hit his first MLB home run before the inning ended. What happened in between was pure magic. Two walks, a single, a sacrifice fly, three doubles, and two other home runs later the Twins were up 9-0, and the game against the perennial nemesis was over before it began.

What Went Wrong 
Manufacturing Base runners – In four of the Twins road losses, they managed a measly eight, five, four, and three base runners in total. One could conclude that Gerrit Cole, Sandy Alcantara, Jesus Luzardo, and Domingo German’s rosin are to blame for the Twins poor offensive showings in those contests.

When I watched those four games live and in person at the stadium, a different story emerged. The three-outcome approach (Strikeout, Home Run, Walk) was in full effect against dominant starters. These games followed offensive outbursts dominated by extra-base hits and homers, but when the Twins needed to manufacture a run no one changed their approach at the plate. The fact stood out especially against Luis Arraez and DJ LeMahieu’s performance in those games. Granted the long-ball also beat the Twins in those games, but when you see professional and adaptable hitting in a close game, it stands out. Who for the Twins will step up to fill this void in the lineup?

Get-Away Days – Every time the last game of a road series rolled around, I was ready to be done. My van was packed, the trip after the game to the next destination was planned, and I had to almost remind myself that there was still a game to be played that day. Unfortunately, I wasn’t alone in this feeling. The Twins went 1-3 in “get-away” day games in April, the last game of each series. They actually finished around .500 in 2022 on these dates, so I’m guessing more series and months will average things out.

I do feel its important to note that in each of the road series so far, the game and the team felt “flat,” and the lineups that were put on the field didn’t imply that they put their best foot forward. The human urge to lose focus on the road is real, so one might argue that the last game of a series should be the time to put the most effort into lineup construction.

Random Implosions – The bullpen gave up a four-spot in the eighth inning to make a 1-1 tie into a late- inning laugher against Miami. Tyler Mahle’s arm began its slow descent onto the injured list in New York. Christian Vazquez forgot how to catch late in the game at his old home, Fenway Park, and the Twins lost in an extra innings that should have never happened. Kenta Maeda took a rocket off of his shin, and Emilio Pagan served up six runs immediately after being lights out all season up until that point.

Road games carry less of a margin for error than home games, and when the Twins provided the errors, the negative results followed. Each of the players mentioned have also been responsible for wins this season, so its not even about them individually. Instead, April’s away games remind us that no implosion will go unpunished on the road.

Where Does the Road Go From Here?
The Twins begin May with two “must-win” road series within the division. The White Sox are one sweep away from imploding for the season, and the Guardians could leapfrog the Twins for first place with a sweep of their own. Los Angeles brings three games apiece against the Dodgers and Angels, and Houston always serves as a difficult venue for Twins to find success.

If the Twins can attack any ace pitching that they find along the way with some adaptive approaches, keep their eyes focused on the task at hand on get-away days, and keep what they can control efficient and clean on the defensive end, a 10-6 record on the road in May isn’t out of the question. Based on 2022’s results, a 5-11 record is just as likely.

Are the Twins’ days of being roadkill over? May will have a lot to say about that.