OAKLAND, Calif. — The Twins have lost four straight games in walkoff fashion at Oakland Coliseum, Paul Molitor pointed out Sunday morning.
"Sometimes it's really beyond explanation," Molitor said, but the Twins can still salvage a break-even road trip with a win today. That may not sound like much, but Minnesota hasn't had a .500 road trip of two cities or more since early June.
In doing so, the Twins could avoid watching the A's celebrate on the field. Oakland's magic number for clinching a playoff spot is down to one over Tampa Bay. That doesn't really hold much appeal for the Twins' manager, though. "I don't get a lot of satisfaction from spoiling. It's kind of hollow for me," Molitor said. "To try to gain any kind of satisfaction by delaying Oakland's postseason confirmation by a day is not overly rewarding for me. To win is rewarding."
The Twins haven't done much of that away from home. Their road record is 28-52, just one season after going 44-37 on the road. If they lose to the A's today, they will tie the 1986 Twins for second-most road losses in a season; only the 1982 Twins, who lost 58, were worse.
Here are the lineups as the Twins try to avoid a sweep:
TWINS
Mauer DH
Polanco SS
