After years of plodding, Twins have become more aggressive running bases

Twins coaches have spent the past couple of days lightheartedly brainstorming nicknames to give their roster that is suddenly stealing a lot of bases and running aggressively.

Maybe they could take a page from the old high-scoring St. Louis Rams, “The Greatest Show on Turf.” Another suggestion was “Nine Innings of Hell,” a nod to the Arkansas Razorbacks’ 40 minutes of full-court defense under Nolan Richardson.

The Twins are far from the only team doing it. They had a lot of trouble slowing down the Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays earlier this season.

But their need for speed started when manager Rocco Baldelli spoke to players before a game on Aug. 20, telling them to “push the envelope” and to lead the league in taking extra bases. Baldelli always encouraged Twins players to run aggressively in certain situations, but the roster has trended younger since the trade deadline and essentially every player has the green light.

The Twins had back-to-back games this week with at least four stolen bases, the first time they have done that in nearly 60 years. They entered Saturday with 19 stolen bases in their previous 16 games. Reminder: This is the same team that stole 57 bases over their first 118 games, the fourth fewest in the majors.

“Let’s be honest, there is nothing to lose right now,” outfielder Trevor Larnach said. “We’re playing pretty aggressive. I think that’s a great way to play. Up and down the lineup, guys have great at-bats, they’re running first to third, stealing bags. I think it’s fun.”

Stealing bases hasn’t been a strength of the Twins for a long time. They ranked last in the league in stolen bases in four of the past seven seasons, including last year. The last time they stole more than the league average was 2017.

“I just feel like the opportunity is there sometimes, and I might as well take advantage of it when I can,” Wallner said. “Just trying to get better at it, and work on it, so it will help me in the future.”

The Twins have made a lot more outs on the bases this month, killing some potential rallies, but the coaching staff has backed players for remaining aggressive. Bench coach Jayce Tingler initially approached Baldelli earlier this month about pushing players out of their comfort zone, whether it’s stealing bases or advancing two bases on a single.

“The guys have been making things happen,” Baldelli said. “And it really doesn’t matter who it is. Yes, some guys are going to go probably more than other guys. I like what I’m seeing. It’s the type of baseball that can win a lot of games for you.”

About 30 minutes after Kody Funderburk pitched the ninth inning in Friday night’s 7-4 victory over San Diego, Baldelli walked up to him in the clubhouse, gave him a hard high-five and congratulated him on securing his first save of the season and second in his career.

Funderburk, who walked two batters to bring the tying run to the plate, told his manager that he appreciated receiving the opportunity to pitch out of his own jam.

“Facing more lefthanded hitters, facing more guys I match up better against helps,” Funderburk said. “In the moment, it helps you lock in a little bit more. Not that it’s an excuse when you’re pitching in a 10-0 game, but when you’re pitching in a close ball game, the focus is a little bit stronger, more intense.”

Twins infielder Kody Clemens attended the Minnesota State Fair during Thursday’s off day, and a fan confused him for Vikings receiver Adam Thielen.