The Twins in 2017 had the strange distinction of finishing with a better road record (44-37) than home record (41-40), which could be viewed two ways:
Their lack of success at home kept them from an even better season … or their road record was the key to at least grabbing a wild card berth.
In any event, it stood to reason that if the Twins could improve at home in 2018 they would have a real chance to contend in the AL Central.
That was a nice theory, but … the Twins this year are 39-29 at Target Field — plenty good enough to compete and a pace to finish 46-35 at home.
On the road, though, they entered Wednesday with a 24-46 record — losses in nearly two of every three games.
Their team ERA is more than half a run higher on the road than at home, and their team batting average is 26 points lower (.232 vs. .258) on the road. Even more telling on the hitting side: Their road OPS is .677, and at home it’s .761.
Granted, this is a more traditional split than last year’s better road than home performance. The majority of teams in every league, including MLB, have better home records than road records as a rule.
But among the many things that have gone wrong for the Twins in 2018 — and it seems like there’s a new one every day — their road regression is a culprit in a disappointing season.
Michael Rand started RandBall with hopes that he could convince the world to love jumpsuits as much as he does. So far, he's only succeeded in using the word "redacted" a lot. He welcomes suggestions, news tips, links of pure genius, and pictures of pets in Halloween costumes here, though he already knows he will regret that last part. Follow @randball on Twitter.
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