Twins' position: It appears every team that has a chance at the American League wild card has received the memo: You have a shot at the playoffs. Start winning. For the second day in a row the Twins, Astros and Angels all won Sunday. So nothing changes heading into Day 1 of the final week of the regular season: Houston is in, a half-game ahead of L.A. and 1.5 up on the Twins.
Daily Wild Card Watch: Look west after Twins game
Pulling for the Twins to make the playoffs? Here's what you need to know today.
September 28, 2015 at 2:34PM
Twins games remaining: 7 (3 home, 4 road)
Games to watch today: 3
Twins at Cleveland (6:10 p.m., FSN): Can they do it again? Phil Hughes outpitched Cleveland ace Corey Kluber last week in a Twins victory, but that was at Target Field. For it to repeat, Hughes will have to reverse his poor history at Progressive Field. His 6.39 career ERA at Cleveland is his second-worst in an AL city. Kluber, meanwhile, had gone 2-0 with a 1.38 ERA in his first three starts versus the Twins this season before he missed 19 days with a hamstring injury. In two post-injury starts, he's allowed seven runs in 7.2 innings.
Houston at Seattle (9 p.m., MLB Network): Astros brass reportedly told players to bring their passports on this season-ending road trip for a potential visit to Toronto next week in the playoffs. Twins fans hope the passports are used for nothing more than a season-ending vacation. But truth is, when you're currently in a playoff spot and have a division crown within reach you have to plan. For what it's worth, the Astros, a major league-best 15-8 on the road through the end of May, are 8-20 away from home since the All-Star break to tie Oakland for baseball's second-worst mark. Houston closed its home schedule with Sunday's 4-2 win over Texas. The Astros trail the Rangers by 2.5 games in the AL West.
Oakland at L.A. Angels (9 p.m., No local TV): Bad news for Twins fans: The Angels are enjoying their longest win streak since a season-high seven-game run July 12-22. They capped a three-game sweep of Seattle with Sunday's 3-2 victory and now play host to AL-worst Oakland for three games. The Angels have taken nine of 16 from the A's so far this season. Kole Calhoun and Albert Pujols have combined for 28 RBI in the season series.
Content from the Associated Press was used in this blog.
The speculation surrounding shortstop Carlos Correa’s availability in a trade was overblown this week, Twins officials indicated at the winter meetings in Dallas.
