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Weekly Snapshot: Mon, 7/24 through Sun, 7/30
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Record Last Week: 1-5 (Overall: 54-53)
Run Differential Last Week: -9 (Overall: +34)
Standing: 1st Place in AL Central (0.5 GA)
Last Week's Game Results:
Game 102 | MIN 4, SEA 3: Twins Come Through in Extra Innings
Game 103 | SEA 9, MIN 7: Bullpen Blows Up as Early Lead Disappears
Game 104 | SEA 8, MIN 7: Ryan Falls Flat, Late Rally Falls Short
Game 105 | KC 8, MIN 5: Walk-off Grand Slam Sinks Duran, Twins
Game 106 | KC 10, MIN 7: Royals Trample Twins Pitchers
Game 107 | KC 2, MIN 1: Offense Shrinks in Fifth Straight Loss
NEWS & NOTES
Faster than expected, the Twins activated Jorge Polanco from his minor-league rehab just ahead of the Royals series. Starting all three games in Kansas City (the first two at third base), Polanco notched two hits in 12 at-bats, including a huge game-tying two-run double with two outs in the ninth on Friday.
Cole Sands was optioned to make room for Polanco, temporarily giving the Twins a 12-man pitching staff.
The Twins also got Byron Buxton back from the paternity list, leading to Trevor Larnach once again being optioned to the minors. Struggling to find any sustained opportunity in this organization, Larnach will be an interesting name to watch as the trade deadline bears down.
Ahead of Sunday's game, Alex Kirilloff was placed on the injured list due to a sore shoulder. Needless to say, the timing is far from ideal – Kirilloff was heating up in a big way as reigning AL Player of the Week, a driving force in the offense's resurgence. Now they'll need to make do without him at first base for a while.
On the bright side, a needy bullpen got back Caleb Thielbar in the corresponding roster move.
HIGHLIGHTS
Buxton looked great in his return to action on Saturday night, drilling three doubles (against three different pitchers). He added another two-bagger on Sunday. It's nice to not only see Byron hitting after another lengthy dry spell, but bringing some variety to his boom-or-bust offensive profile. Prior to the KC series he had only three doubles in his past 42 games – compared to nine homers and 57 strikeouts.
Other hitters stood out in a week that saw the Twins score 31 runs in six games. Max Kepler continued his awakening by going 8-for-23 (.348) with three doubles and a home run. Christian Vázquez homered and drove in five runs in four games. Matt Wallner launched four bombs, although they were his only hits and he otherwise struck out 11 times with one walk in 23 plate appearances.
While the offense has certainly been improved since the All-Star break, it's tough to feel much enthusiasm about this modest turnaround given that they closed out the week with a pitiful one-run showing, while things begin to completely unravel elsewhere.
LOWLIGHTS
Just as the offense has finally come to life, the pitching staff is spiraling. The team's post-break ERA rose to 5.15 on Saturday night when the lowly Royals offense tacked up 10 runs on Bailey Ober and the Twins bullpen. One night earlier, Jhoan Duran gave up a walk-off grand slam to Bobby Witt Jr. after Sonny Gray earlier failed to handle the Royals.
Friday's was a very typical Gray outing. He mostly cruised through five innings, entered the sixth with a lead, and couldn't finish the job, coughing up two runs to exit with a deficit. Gray hasn't earned a win since April and the Twins are 4-11 in his 15 starts over that span. It's not entirely his fault by any stretch, of course, but it's not a total coincidence either.
Elsewhere in the rotation, Joe Ryan is free-falling with a 5.90 ERA and 17 home runs allowed in his past 11 starts. He coughed up two more long balls on Wednesday in Seattle – a laborious outing in which he required 95 pitches to get 11 outs. Ryan continues to miss bats and get strikeouts but whenever opponents are making contact they're crushing him. The right-hander needs to make some adjustments and fast.
Across the pitching staff, pitchers who the Twins have relied on all year are wobbling. Duran is showing clear signs of wear, with his command eroding as the team leans heavily on him in constantly close games. He has a 6.52 ERA in July and has given up multiple runs in three of 10 appearances – something he hadn't done in his previous 56 appearances.
Griffin Jax has given up seven hits in his last six outings. (He'd given up four in his previous 18.) The early magic from Oliver Ortega and Jordan Balazovic seems to be wearing off.
It's nice to have Thielbar back in the mix, and Dallas Keuchel looms in the minors as a potential rotation reinforcement to help relieve concerning workloads, and the deadline offers another chance to add depth, but the Twins need their horses to get back on track and fast or this is gonna get ugly.
TRENDING STORYLINE
The makeup of the Twins' roster will likely look different the next time they take the field on Tuesday night. They already got their deadline season activity underway early by trading Jorge López to Miami for Dylan Floro on Wednesday, and there are surely more moves to come.
The deadline is at 5:00 CT on Tuesday (August 1st). Definitely keep tuned to Twins Daily's trade deadline coverage to stay in the know as things develop in the next 48 hours.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following a dismal showing against Kansas City, the Twins will make the brief jaunt over to St. Louis for another three-game series against a last-place team. Interestingly, the Cards are among the likely sellers who've been connected most to Minnesota in deadline rumblings. (Although their most intriguing reliever, Jordan Hicks, was dealt to Toronto on Sunday.)
From there it's back home to Target Field for a series against the Diamondbacks, who were one of the biggest surprises in MLB in the first half but have slid in the standings with a 7-16 July.
Good news for the Twins offense: all right-handed starters on the docket. But it's not going to matter much if the fumbling pitchers don't get it together in a hurry.
TUESDAY, 8/1: TWINS @ CARDINALS – RHP Pablo Lopez v. RHP Jack Flaherty
WEDNESDAY, 8/2: TWINS @ CARDINALS – RHP Joe Ryan v. RHP Miles Mikolas
THURSDAY, 8/3: TWINS @ CARDINALS – RHP Sonny Gray v. LHP Jordan Montgomery
FRIDAY, 8/4: DIAMONDBACKS @ TWINS – RHP Merrill Kelly v. RHP Bailey Ober
SATURDAY, 8/5: DIAMONDBACKS @ TWINS – RHP Ryne Nelson v. RHP Kenta Maeda
SUNDAY, 8/6: DIAMONDBACKS @ TWINS – RHP Zac Gallen v. RHP Pablo Lopez
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- verninski, tarheeltwinsfan and mikelink45
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