Minnesota Update, 7.17.2023
The Twins won an unspeakable series, the Loons are feeling optimistic, and the Saints are interesting even without Matt Wallner.
The Twins swept a series! Now let’s never speak of it again!
Okay, that’s not entirely fair to the Twins, especially since they hadn’t swept a series in Oakland since 1997. But it’s not entirely unfair either, since Oakland is now 25-70 and has a real shot at failing to win 40 games this season.
Let’s just review how the games this weekend went, and then perhaps we can decide how proud the Twins should be:
Friday, the Twins put up three runs in eight innings against Oakland’s historically-awful pitching staff, and needed a Joey Gallo ninth-inning homer to win it (and even then, Jhoan Duran nearly gave away the game in the ninth.)
Saturday, Minnesota took a 6-0 lead, Pablo López - an All-Star! - blew it, and the Twins had to scratch out some late runs and hold their breath through a high-leverage Oliver Ortega relief appearance (and use Duran for a second consecutive day, too).
Sunday, the Twins trailed until the seventh, when they got a clutch three-run opposite-field double from Alex Kirilloff to steal another win.
Scoring 20 runs in a three-game series isn’t that impressive when the other team is averaging allowing 19 runs per three games. And holding them to four, seven, and four runs isn’t great when they’re averaging less than four runs per game.
But hey, winning all three games was the minimum acceptable result from this series, and the Twins did do that. Plus, Cleveland lost three in a row, so the Twins now have a cushion at the top of the AL Central again. And now, they go to Seattle, which is third in the AL West, and so how good can they even - okay I’m seeing here that the Twins and Mariners have the same number of losses, never mind.
For the Loons, I already recapped the game - my first byline for the Pioneer Press! - so I won’t do that again here.
I will, however, note a couple of things that struck me from postgame interviews.
For one, despite yet another home draw (MNUFC has taken 12 of a possible 30 points at home this year), the team is pretty optimistic about itself. Emanuel Reynoso was cooking; said manager Adrian Heath, “I’ve played with some great players. He’s up there with anybody. His balance, his vision, his turning ability and knowing where the next pass has got to go is as good as I’ve ever seen.”
I think it’s probably mostly Reynoso’s return that’s got the team feeling good. Over the last five games, with Reynoso back in the starting lineup, the Loons have had two three-goal wins, two draws that they felt like should have been wins, and one weird outlier loss. I think the Loons feel like things are turning around, but the question is whether they have enough time to fully right the ship; the season is two-thirds over.
The second thing I noticed is that, while the Leagues Cup starts next Sunday, I’m not sure the Loons are taking it as seriously as they’re taking the remaining MLS schedule.
It’s not that they’re not saying the right things, really. “We want to treat the Leagues Cup with the respect that the tournament should have, because it’s an important one,” said Heath. Zarek Valentin talked about how winning is a habit, and the Leagues Cup is an opportunity to build that habit.
But all of that said, my sense from the interviews was that the team is viewing it a bit like the US Open Cup - a nice opportunity, but not a season-defining one. Michael Boxall said that he hadn’t thought about the tournament at all yet. Valentin had to catch himself mid-sentence, because he started to sound like he was talking about it as a series of friendlies. Even Heath, after noting that he wanted to treat the tournament with respect, ended up talking about it as an opportunity to get Reynoso and Teemu Pukki and Sang Bin Jeong back to full fitness.
I’m excited for the Leagues Cup; it’s something different, and it’s clear to me that MLS sees it as a potential upgrade on the US Open Cup as a secondary competition. But there’s going to be a real question, especially for teams like the Loons that are scuffling for playoff spots, if their focus is truly on this new tournament - or on the stretch drive that resumes on August 20.
The St. Paul Saints played a normal three-game series this weekend, thanks to the All-Star Break, and dropped two out of three to Durham. The real news for the Saints was that the Twins called up Matt Wallner, after putting Jose Miranda on the IL, and so one of the main reasons to check the Saints boxscore every day has been eliminated.
That said, there’s a few other reasons. Jorge Polanco is hitting again; he singled, doubled, and walked in four trips to the plate on Sunday, serving as the DH to begin his rehab assignment in St. Paul. Dallas Keuchel made his fourth appearance on the mound, allowing three runs (one earned) on eight hits in six innings, walking nobody and striking out six.
Keuchel is an interesting case. He’s trying to restart his career with the Twins, which normally is a pretty good proposition for a starting pitcher; usually by late July, the Twins are in Warm Bodies mode with the back half of the rotation. This year, Keuchel’s actually going to have to wait around for a chance.
After 15 second-half games, the Saints are a half-game back at the top of the International League, too.
TODAY’S SLATE
TWINS at Seattle, 8:40pm
ON DECK
LYNX at Atlanta, Tuesday
SAINTS at Omaha, Tuesday
LOONS vs. Puebla, Sunday
Very disappointed when I clicked to listen to the article on PP and it wasn't in your voice. Maybe record an extra podcast where you record you reading the article.