MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins couldn’t find another dose of ninth-inning magic against the Orioles on Sunday afternoon as they fell, 3-1, in the series finale, thus opening the second half of their 162-game schedule with a performance — and three-game series — that looked indicative of the first 81 games as a whole.
The starting rotation continued to prove a significant part of this team’s overall success, with Devin Smeltzer’s six innings of three-run ball giving the Twins their 16th straight game in which their starter allowed no more than three runs. There was star power on display earlier in the weekend, with Byron Buxton’s walk-off homer on Friday night and an important breakthrough from a youngster in Jose Miranda’s walk-off single on Saturday afternoon, but it was juxtaposed with periods of confusing offensive malaise like Sunday.
All that has led to the Twins opening their final 81 games of the season with a defeat that still has them at the top of the American League Central at 45-37, two games ahead of the Guardians. They’ve gone from worst to first, but they’re still not as far ahead of a largely disappointing division as they could — and arguably should — be.
“On March 7, if you said to me, ‘OK, you’re signing up for getting into July and you’re in first place in the Central,’ and I didn’t know any of the game differential or how we got there, sign me up,” said president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. “That part, we have to be proud of or happy with, so to speak. But we’re not happy enough. We want to do more.”
What should the Twins be thinking about as they embark upon this second half?
1. Where will the relief help come from?
For all its inconsistencies, the Twins’ offense has delivered a 112 wRC+, the fifth best in the Majors behind the Yankees, Astros, Blue Jays and Dodgers. That’s pretty good company. The rotation’s 3.54 ERA entering Sunday was the sixth best despite heavy injury attrition for a chunk of the season.
And then there’s the bullpen, which ranked 27th in the Majors with 0.4 fWAR, 16th with its 3.84 ERA and 14th with a 0.29 Win Probability Added.
Many factors have played into that, including a lingering injury to Jorge Alcala and struggles from Joe Smith, Tyler Duffey and Emilio Pagán. All four of those pitchers had been counted on to be important pieces in the middle to late innings, and the Twins have had to make do without season-long consistency from any of them.
The trade…
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