After a disappointing series loss to the Detroit Tigers, the Twins got exactly what they needed: The 3-18 Chicago White Sox, one of the worst teams in baseball, who took the field on Monday and promptly lost, 7-0. It was perhaps the Twins’ most complete and convincing victory of the season so far. Chris Paddack dominated on the mound and the bats showed some life, the Twins scoring those seven runs on 11 hits. Max Kepler, who returned to the lineup on Monday, drove in three runs with a single and double, Eddie Julien had three hits, including his team-leading fifth dinger, and Willi Castro co ..read more

The Twins snapped a five-game losing streak on Saturday with a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Although the Twins won, the one element of their game that was a problem last season and has become a major issue this season is hitting with runners in scoring position. Given the win, one might think they did just enough in that department to edge the Tigers. They did not. Instead, they were 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. So how did the Twins score? With three sacrifice flies and an error. No one is going to confuse this team with the 2019 Bomba Squad. Louie ..read more

The Twins were swept by the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, raising new questions about the team’s ability to hit and pitch. The club showed little of either in 7-4 and 11-3 losses on Monday and Tuesday, then the pitching improved on Wednesday, but the Twins managed to score only two runs on five hits in the 4-2 walk-off loss. Pablo Lopez, though, righted the ship quite a bit after Chris Paddack and Louie Varland got hammered in their starts. Lopez allowed only a run across six innings with no walks and seven strikeouts. And yet the Twins didn’t score until the seventh inning. The Twins are o ..read more

As much as I want to see Twins pitcher Louie Varland succeed in the big leagues, I’m just not sure he is suited to the role of starting pitcher after he lost again Monday night to the Baltimore Orioles, 7-4. Although he didn’t walk a single batter and struck out six, he still served up six runs on 11 hits across five innings. To be fair, only four of those runs were earned because of an Eddie Julien error at second base. Varland is now 0-3 on the young season with an ERA of 8.36. The Twins’ defense, which was great last season, has been on shaky footing of late. Kyle Farmer misplayed a ball a ..read more

A seven-run inning and a solid start from a rookie pitcher helped the Twins put together back to back wins on Saturday in a doubleheader sweep of the Detroit Tigers. The Twins have gone from a potentially disconcerting 4-9 record to a much more encouraging 6-7 mark heading into the series finale on Sunday. In Game 1, the Twins looked like the weak-hitting Twins for most of it until they exploded for seven runs in the top of the 12th inning. They got a key hit from Ryan Jeffers, but the Twins also received a huge gift from the Tigers as Detroit third baseman Zach McKinstry let that ball get be ..read more

The Twins shook off their losing ways on Wednesday and found a touch more offense to finally beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 and salvage the last game of the three-game series. The Big Bopper was Eddie Julien, who had a 3-for-4 day at the plate, including two home runs, plus three runs scored and two RBI. Byron Buxton cashed in a single to drive in the third run for the Twins. On the mound, Chris Paddack was OK, allowing just two runs across four-plus innings; however, the bullpen was especially stingy. Five relievers followed Paddack and they blanked the Dodgers the rest of the way on three ..read more

Starter Bailey Ober gave the Twins a much improved outing on Monday, and the bullpen wasn’t that bad either, but if all you can muster is three hits against the Los Angeles Dodgers don’t expect to win. And they didn’t, the Twins losing 4-2 to the team from Los Angeles. They are now 1-7 against the Dodgers since 2022. After losing 11-0 to the Royals, Ober returned to the mound on Monday and allowed only a run on three hits across five innings with two walks and seven strikeouts. He exited after 68 pitches, which some might question, but again it really doesn’t matter if the best you can do is ..read more

The Twins are lacking a serious spark in their lineup of late, which explains why the club was 0-for-12 on Thursday and 0-for-11 on Saturday in two losses to the Cleveland Guardians. Saturday’s loss was especially noticeable because the Twins scored one run on two hits. All of this is a reminder that Mr. Clutch, Royce Lewis, is injured and not in the lineup, and that the Twins need to get him back as soon as possible because Lewis, as he has already shown in his short career, hits well with runners in scoring position. How well? Take a look at these numbers: He has slashed .380/.443/.789 with ..read more

The Twins lost their home opener to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday, 4-2. Both teams had the same number of hits (7) and both teams each committed one error, but look at hitting with runners in scoring position and that’s where you can throw the similarities out the window. It’s not like the Guards put on a clinic in that category — they were 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position — but it was a lot more than what the Twins accomplished. They were a disastrous 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, left nine men on base and struck out 15 times as a team, which means the Twins are no ..read more

Through the first four games of the new season, the Twins were averaging 2.75 runs per game, the kind of run-scoring that isn’t going to win you many games. The Hahn/Cock sculpture, Walker Art Center, downtown Minneapolis. But that all changed Wednesday as the Twins scored seven runs on 11 hits, including a 5-run inning that quickly erased a one-run deficit and propelled the club to a come from behind victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-3. Catcher Ryan Jeffers, who had gone hitless to start the season, broke out of his slump in the best possible way by hitting a three-run home run, one of tw ..read more