The Minnesota Twins are struggling, having suffered 11 defeats in their last 13 games. Their woes were compounded by a 5-3 loss to the Mariners. The challenge intensifies as the reigning American League champion Blue Jays arrive for a four-game series at Target Field.
Walking Batters Proving Costly
Walks have been a significant issue for the Twins, particularly late in games. Seattle’s winning rally on Wednesday began with a walk, as did the rally that broke open Tuesday’s game. Critical two-out walks also featured in the Mets’ two go-ahead rallies last week.
The Twins’ bullpen has pitchers who can be effective, but few with overwhelming stuff. They need to locate their pitches to get hitters out. Eric Orze, for instance, hadn’t walked a batter in over two weeks before issuing a four-pitch leadoff walk to Randy Arozarena on Wednesday. That walk set up the rest of the rally, including Cole Young’s soft ground-ball single.
“A situation like that, you can’t walk the leadoff guy, let alone on four pitches,” Orze said. “You have to be competitive in zone and make them earn it. The couple of base hits afterward, that’s obviously where the difference came. I have to execute.”
Need for Timely Hits
The Twins pride themselves on playing all 27 outs. While they have shown resilience, their recent slide has been marked by an inability to get key hits in RBI opportunities, especially early in games. They missed key chances early on Tuesday and Wednesday, chances to take big leads and potentially chase Seattle starters.
This has led to tense at-bats later in games. It also allows opponents to deploy their bullpens as they wish, rather than navigating multiple innings.
“I thought we did a good job with our approach,” manager Derek Shelton said. “You saw two really good starting pitchers right there. That was dominant stuff on both sides and not a ton of hard contact. We had opportunities.”
Starting Rotation a Bright Spot
One positive aspect of the Twins’ recent performance has been their starting rotation. Taj Bradley and Joe Ryan both delivered excellent outings after rough ones on the road trip. Connor Prielipp has thrived in place of Mick Abel. Bailey Ober continues to find ways to succeed with diminished velocity.
Simeon Woods Richardson has struggled in recent starts, but overall, the Twins’ starters are keeping them in games. Bradley showed why the club is so excited about him. He struck out batters on four different pitches, showing an especially nasty curveball, while his velocity ticked back up to where it was in his first couple of starts.
If Bradley and Ryan keep pitching as they did this week, wins will follow.