Well, who saw this one coming? While the Twins have been markedly better on the road (23-9) than at home (16-25) there seemed to be a nervous fan base following the series from the Twin Cities - based on social media monitoring and panic from my friends.
But the reverse split bit continued. Who expected Cleveland to hit 1-for-23 with runners in scoring position? Or the Twins to beat the Indians on the day Corey Kluber was on the mound? Or win two games without Miguel Sano in the lineup and one with Chris Gimenez in left field?
The Twins, however, crafted three wins and were a fired up team as they left for Boston after Sunday's game.
(This is a transition blog, as Phil Miller picks up the team for the rest of the road trip and I go home to clean out my garage:)
"It didn't work out at our place, four game in three days," first baseman Joe Mauer said. "So it was kinda good to return the favor a little bit. Every game is important.
"You never know what's going to happen when you come to the ballpark."
The Twins generally are a loose group before games, but I noticed a different atmosphere before Friday's game. They were relaxed, yet focused. And they were like that before every game. When Brian Dozier said after Sunday's game that they had been talking about being embarrassed and wanting to pay Cleveland back, I started thinking about the atmosphere before the first game and realized the connection.
Everyone had a hand in this series. From Jorge Polanco's second-inning home run on Friday to Dozier and Gimenez hitting late homers on Saturday to Eddie Rosario having perhaps his best all-around game as a Twin on Sunday, different players stepped up all weekend.
