After a rough stretch, the Twins' schedule eases up considerably and could — should? — enable them to at least stay on the fringes of contention.
Their next two series are against way-below-.500 teams Oakland and San Diego before coming home against the mediocre Rangers. In the back half of August, the Twins have 11 consecutive games against either the White Sox or Blue Jays, two last-place teams.
The Twins are done for the season with the Astros, Red Sox and Dodgers — three elite teams against whom the Twins have gone a combined 3-13 this season.
Bottom line: The Twins will have the type of schedule conducive to winning streaks or clusters of, say, seven wins in nine games. Whether they take advantage is another matter, but they are at least in a better position to do so after adding Bartolo Colon and Jaime Garcia — both of whom are scheduled to start this weekend in Oakland.
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
