A fifth-inning home run and a costly defensive miscue were enough to send the Twins deeper into the hole Saturday, even though their pitching staff kept Chicago almost completely quiet.
Minnesota gave up only three hits in a 3-2 loss to the division-leading White Sox at Target Field, but the result still counted the same. The defeat was the Twins’ second straight to Chicago, their third consecutive series loss, and another hit to a playoff push that has gone from hopeful to precarious in a hurry.
FanGraphs had their postseason odds around 40% just last week. By Saturday, those odds were in the single digits.
The Twins are now 64-72 and trail the White Sox by 8 1/2 games, with the path through the division looking thinner by the day.
“We’ve all been here before, backs up against the wall,” designated hitter Josh Bell said. “We know what we want.
… There’s no giving up. There’s no rolling over.
It’s about showing up (Sunday) ready to play.”
Minnesota actually answered Chicago twice early. Bell tied the game in the first with a sacrifice fly that scored Luke Keaschall, who had doubled to start the inning. Then, in the second, rookie Walker Jenkins hustled out a potential double-play ball and brought home Kaelen Culpepper for his first career RBI.
That 2-1 lead held until the fourth, when Culpepper couldn’t handle a Chase Meidroth grounder cleanly and never got a chance to finish the inning with Bailey Ober on the mound. Andrew Benintendi scored on the play to even things at 2-2.
“He’s a great player. He’s going to make mistakes in this game just like everyone is,” Ober, who allowed two runs, one earned, over five innings, said. “He, I feel like more times than not, I feel like the next play he’s making, he’s making a great play.”
The next big swing came an inning later. Benintendi, who has been a strong hitter at Target Field, got under a low cutter from Andrew Morris and drove it to right-center for the go-ahead homer. That shot was the only extra damage Chicago needed, and Morris has now allowed runs in four of his last six outings.
“The guy hit a 95 mile per hour cutter that (darn) near bounced,” manager Derek Shelton said. “So, I mean, good piece of hitting.
It was a 95 mph cutter that was three inches below the zone. There’s nothing you can do there.”
Benintendi accounted for all three White Sox hits. Minnesota managed only five hits of its own and lost for the seventh time in eight games. August has been especially rough, with the Twins now 8-16 for the month.
The slide has also reshaped the wild-card picture. After sweeping the Atlanta Braves last week, the Twins had been tied for the third wild-card spot. Now they sit behind Cleveland by 4 1/2 games and also trail Texas, Baltimore, Toronto and Seattle.
A little more than a week ago, they were alone in that position.
“We did fall a little bit in the wild card, but we still have, what, like 13 games in division starting tomorrow. You never know.
It’s baseball,” second baseman Kody Clemens said. “We can get on hot streaks.
We won 13 or 14 in a row last year. So if something like that happens, or if we just try and salvage (Sunday) and win series, we’ll be in a better spot.
But we’ve just got to focus game by game and get back to winning.”
In Other News...
Twins Move On From Kyler Fedko In Painful Roster Twist
September roster moves brought a tough break for Kyler Fedko, whose name had been one of the more interesting ones to watch as the Twins navigated the final stretch of roster expansion. Minnesota designated the outfielder for assignment while officially adding infielder Ben Ross to the 40-man roster, and the club also recalled right-hander Garrett Acton from Triple-A as part of its September call-ups.
Fedkos situation is complicated by the severe knee injury that altered his path, and the injury waiver rules now push him toward release. From there, the door is not necessarily closed, since he could potentially re-sign with Minnesota or land elsewhere, but for now the Twins have had to make the kind of roster decision that cuts deeper than most. [Read more 🡒]
Twins September Call-Ups Raise A Bigger Question About This Playoff Push
The Twins are using Septembers roster expansion to add a little more depth where the stretch run tends to get thin. Right-hander Garrett Acton, recently activated from the injured list after arriving from the Miami Marlins, gives the bullpen another arm, while utilityman Ben Ross arrives with the kind of minor league track record that can help a contender squeeze value out of matchups, especially against left-handed pitching.
For a club still hanging around the postseason race, the moves fit the moment: protect the pitching staff, widen the bench and give the lineup a few more ways to tilt an inning. What makes the call-ups more interesting is what they suggest about how the Twins want to navigate the final weeks, with bullpen depth and platoon flexibility taking on a little extra weight as the games get bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Triple-A Lineup Is Suddenly Chasing An Even Bigger Record
The power surge in St. Paul has turned the Twins Triple-A affiliate into one of the loudest lineups in the minors. The Saints already had enough thump to make a statement, but their latest pair of long balls pushed them past the International League single-season home run record, with Kalai Rosario providing the tie and Cody Morissette delivering the one that moved them into new territory.
What makes the chase even more interesting from a Minnesota perspective is that this has become more than a one-player feat. The Saints now have 12 players with at least 10 home runs, a spread-out attack that has kept the lineup dangerous all season and left them within reach of the all-time minor league single-season home run mark held by El Paso. For a Twins organization that values depth and internal options, this kind of production is hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]