The Twins dropped four of five games at Detroit nearly two weeks ago, and their prospects for a rebound looked bleak because they were headed to red-hot Toronto before returning to Target Field to face a Yankees team with baseball's best record.
The results are in after winning two of three against the Blue Jays then dropping two of three to the Yankees. While the Twins stopped their downward spiral and still hold on to first place in the AL Central, they should be cursing themselves for a Yankees series that was there to be had.
The Twins were once leading 7-3 on Thursday but the Bronx Bombers scored seven runs on the Twins bullpen to win 10-7 and take the series. It was troubling because the offense clobbered five home runs off ace Gerrit Cole while taking what was believed to be a comfortable lead.
But the Yankees were who we thought they were — the best team in baseball. And the Twins bullpen let them off the hook. The first four relievers used on Friday — Jharel Cotton, Joe Smith, Jhoan Duran and Jovani Moran — were scored upon as New York's dominance over the Twins continues. Every time the bullpen door swung open Thursday, trouble was on the way.
Don't pacify yourselves with the thought that going 3-3 against the Blue Jays and Yankees is acceptable. It is not. Especially when the Twins left meat on the bone this week.
All three Yankee starters in the series got on the team charter following the game smarting from the clubbing the Twins gave them. In 10 1/3 innings, Yankee starters had a 13.11 ERA in the series while giving up eight home runs. The 4 1/3 outing by Nestor Cortes, Jr. on Wednesday was the deepest a Yankee starter pitched in this series.
What does this say about these Twins?
One, they did shake off their worst baseball of the season in Detroit, when they lost four of five games.