Cleveland was 28-29 entering June and trailed the Twins by 10.5 games in the American League Central race. Since then, the Indians have gone 16-7 while the Twins have battled numerous injuries and inconsistencies on the field.

And yet Minnesota has still managed to go 14-9 this month, maintaining a still-comfortable 8.5-game lead in the division even as Cleveland charges hard. What could have been a very vulnerable stretch has instead reinforced just how good this Twins team appears to be.

But if you're still wondering: "How the heck are the Twins still winning games?" here are a few answers.

*Prowess in one-run games: The Twins are 13-5 for the season in one-run games. Starting June 6 with a very important 5-4 win at Cleveland, they are a perfect 5-0 in one-run games while going 7-7 in all other games in that span.

*Quality depth: Injuries to Byron Buxton, Marwin Gonzalez and Ehire Adrianza — plus recent setbacks involving Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario and Willians Astudillo — have forced the Twins into some odd defensive alignments and lineups.

The result has been a machine that isn't quite as well-oiled as it could be but nevertheless has continued humming along.

Luis Arraez has been a revelation with his .452 batting average, .538 on-base percentage and nine walks with just two strikeouts. Jake Cave has struggled since his call-up, but he at least has a track record from 2018. Since being recalled and before going on the injured list Thursday, Astudillo hit .333 with an .857 OPS.

And depth, too, means more than just those who replaced injured players. While some Twins hitters have cooled off considerably this month (like Miguel Sano and Jason Castro, to name a couple), others have been on fire. Nelson Cruz has a .945 OPS this month. Kepler, back in the lineup Thursday after being knocked from Tuesday's game after being hit by a pitch, has a 1.163 OPS since June 6.

*Clutch performances: Timely hitting and pitching have been themes lately, going hand-in-hand with that 5-0 record in one-run games. The Twins' bullpen is 7-2 in June, helping to support a starting staff that has still been good this month but has an ERA (4.11 vs. 3.08) that's more than a run higher than it was during lights-out May.

Staying above water when you aren't at full strength might be an even better indicator of a team's prowess than how it plays when everything is going well. The Twins might be in survival mode for a while longer, but their work under less than ideal circumstances this month has been encouraging.