MLB teams do not want to be known for their streakiness. Going back and forth between winning streaks and losing streaks may be taxing on a team’s morale and leave players doubting their performances every day. The Minnesota Twins embody the “streaky” concept better than any other team this season.
The Twins suffered their eighth consecutive loss on Monday, falling 12-3 to the Washington Nationals. It was Minnesota’s worst setback since their season-opening 11-0 shutout loss to the Kansas City Royals on March 31.
The Twins offence has struggled significantly throughout this losing streak. They’ve scored 12 runs in the last seven games, but were restricted to four or fewer hits in four of them.
Minnesota struggled to get anything going against Nationals rookie Mitchell Parker on Monday. Parker earned his second career MLB quality start, limiting the Twins to three runs over six innings.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was blunt in his assessment of his team’s inability to change at the plate.
“The guy just stood there and threw off-speed pitches for four innings, and we didn’t do anything about it,” Baldelli told the Associated Press. “We continued to wave at them and look for fastballs. They didn’t come today. Especially throughout the first five to six innings. And that’s been a constant trend throughout this stretch of games in which we’ve struggled.”
Minnesota’s seven-game losing skid matches its worst under Baldelli, who took over as manager in 2019.
Players express discontent as Twins seek answers.
Teams often avoid player-only meetings since they nearly invariably occur during a poor period. On the other hand, they frequently do work and create a spark in a clubhouse.
Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez, who gave up seven earned runs in five innings on Monday, believes Minnesota’s postgame talk was constructive.
“Externalizing gives you the sense of relief,” added López. “When you say something out loud or hear something expressed out loud, it helps to put things in perspective. So I believe we uttered things that we were thinking but not stating out.
Prior to this streak, the Twins had won 17 of their last 20 games, giving them a 24-16 record. They were within a half-game of first place in the wide-open American League Central. Minnesota is now 24-23, six and a half games behind of first.
Minnesota has had three separate losing streaks of at least four games this season before playing 50 games. Perhaps more stunning is that the Twins once won 12 in a row but are now only one game ahead.500.
“When you flip it, you begin to forget some of your previous experiences. “We’ve already flipped the season completely around,” Baldelli stated. “I’ve seen a lot of streaky baseball; we all have. This is next-level material.”
Over the next two weeks, the Twins’ situation will not improve significantly. After two more games against the Nationals, the Twins will face the reigning champion Texas Rangers, a confident Kansas City Royals group, and a revived Houston Astros team. The stretch culminates with a trip to New York to face the Yankees, who have the best record in the American League.
There is reason to hope Minnesota can right the ship and return to contention. Perhaps this player-only meeting will be a tipping point.
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