Twins Video
Since beating Oakland 5-0 in their first game after the All-Star break, the Twins have been in full meltdown mode, winning only five of 21 games with the competition looking increasingly lopsided.
Simultaneously, every facet of the roster that Molitor had come to rely on over the first three months is sputtering.
Hughes now sports a 5.53 ERA in five post-break starts, and has been part of a systematic failure for a rotation that has collectively recorded only four wins in 22 contests since the All-Star Game after a first-half turnaround that was one of the big stories in baseball.
Here's what all of the Twins starters have done since the break. (Context: The average American League starter has a 4.12 ERA and 1.28 WHIP this year.)
Phil Hughes: 5.53 ERA, 1.48 WHIP
Kyle Gibson: 8.59 ERA, 1.72 WHIP
Ervin Santana: 5.16 ERA, 1.45 WHIP
Mike Pelfrey: 4.30 ERA, 1.43 WHIP
Tommy Milone: 7.98 ERA, 1.43 WHIP
And of course we saw what happened to Tyler Duffey in his lone start.
Despite some troubling indicators (namely a dreadfully low strikeout rate), Minnesota's starting pitching continued to be reliably solid throughout the first half of the season. Over the past three weeks it has been anything but.
Of course, the rotation isn't the only previously steady unit that has unraveled.
Twins hitters batted a respectable .256 before the break but are at .221 since, following Sunday's three-hit effort against Corey Kluber. The quality output from Aaron Hicks and Miguel Sano hasn't offset struggles everywhere else in the lineup, including from cornerstones that the Twins have come to count on so heavily.
Brian Dozier, whose production in the first half bordered on MVP-caliber, is hitting .212/. 272/.424 since he homered in the All-Star Game.
Joe Mauer, who appeared to be returning to form to some extent when he batted .325 with an .829 OPS in 20 games leading up the break, has sunk back into sub-mediocrity, with a .244/.306/.333 slash line in 21 games since.
Torii Hunter is batting .209 since the break and Trevor Plouffe is at .203.
And then there's Glen Perkins, whose post-break struggles epitomize this ongoing funk. As a media-friendly Minnesota native with three consecutive All-Star appearances under his belt, the long-tenured Perkins has sort of become the unofficial ambassador for the team. He was automatic in the first half, and his ability to nail down every narrow ninth-inning lead was a huge part of the club's unexpected success.
Plenty of players have seen their performance drop off since that four-day mid-July respite, but nobody has looked as unlike himself as Perkins, who has blown two of four save attempts while getting slammed by opponents to the tune of .387/.424/.774 in seven appearances. He's been the only completely trustworthy option in a bullpen that has been shaky for most of the year, so the impact his ineffectiveness is magnified.
As good as the Twins looked back in May, they've looked equally bad during this latest stretch, across every phase of the game. Suddenly the good vibes are drying up quickly as this begins to look like a team that could approach 90 losses.
Amazingly, in spite of this lengthy slump, the Twins are still clinging to second place in a Central division that many pegged at the start of the season as one of the best in baseball. Monday's day off seems like a critical one, as players and coaches look inward and search for answers in an effort to turn the tide on this immense team-wide slump.
What can be done?
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now