DETROIT — This isn’t how this stretch of games was supposed to go for the Twins.
This 15-game sequence against only the Tigers and Royals, the bottom two teams in the American League Central, should have given Minnesota a chance to pad its lead in the division. Instead, the Twins are barely clinging to a winning record in that span, with their 5-0 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park on Wednesday sending them to their sixth loss in the past nine games.
It’s a stretch of malaise that’s seemed all the more difficult due to the Twins’ offense having been held scoreless for 20 consecutive innings. Minnesota only mustered a pair of weak singles — 57.9 mph and 67.4 mph — off Detroit left-hander Tarik Skubal on Wednesday, one day after being held to three hits in a shutout by rookie Joey Wentz and a quartet of relievers.
“Hitting comes and goes in waves, and right now, it’s just, we’re at the bottom of it,” Kyle Garlick said.
He’s right. This Twins offense has been up and down in this stretch, with 25 runs scored across the three wins and 12 in the six losses. The Twins have actually been quite a successful offensive team in aggregate, leading the American League in on-base percentage while sitting fourth in OPS and third in total bases. They just haven’t played like it of late.
What could help them snap out of this?
Get out of this stretch of schedule
Many of these issues can be attributed to the fact that the Twins are in a stretch of 18 games in 17 days,…