Another ball game, another loss and another chance missed for the Minnesota Twins to rise above .500 this season. But getting above that pivotal hump is still eluding the team as the major league season nears the All-Star break.
A 5-3 interleague loss to the St. Louis Cardinals June 27 at Busch Stadium brought the Minnesota team back down to a record of 38-38. Both starters struggled early with high pitch counts as a smattering a runs came across home plate.
Not even 24 hours after a game which featured Twins closer Joe Nathan striking out big-name player Albert Pujols in the ninth inning to seal a 3-1 victory, the first baseman showed his power against Twins ace Kevin Slowey. Pujols smashed a couple of two-run home runs off of Slowey, to deny the pitcher win No. 11 on the season.
Slowey referred to the National League power-hitter as “very special."
Of course he is, and there were a lot of factors that contributed to the Twins’ loss. It was a game in which all three of the team’s runs came on a bases-clearing hit from Brendan Harris, before the bats turned silent from the fourth inning on.
This still doesn’t change the glaring statistic that has followed the Twins like an unfriendly shadow from game to game this season: They can’t get more than a game over .500. It happens time and time again this year. They are a couple games below the mark, then come back to win a couple more, before dropping one again. It’s been an up-and-down roller coaster.
I don’t know what it is, but maybe we should stop talking about the .500 mark. Maybe it’s too much pressure when the guys take the field knowing they are a game above, and need a win to get two above. It’s getting to the point that if you see the Twins win a game, and then notice their record is at one game above .500, you can just sense a loss is very likely in the next game.
Luckily for the Twins, they are competing in a weak AL Central Division where most of the teams are losing more than winning. In fact, the Twins (picked by many, including Sports Illustrated, to take the Central) are sitting in second place behind the 41-32 Detroit Tigers. Currently following the Twins are the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians.
As the All-Star break draws near, it can be safe to say that no one is running away with this division. Each team has its faults. Looking at the Twins, they continue some of their previous trends with road struggles (14-23) and interleague dominance (11-6), but their usually stellar home record has dipped a bit in the Metrodome’s last season for the baseball team (24-15).
You would think that eventually the hovering around half-and-half will have to end. Either they will put a solid win streak together, (or start being more consistent with their wins) and move further into the win column, or they will slide even further down the losing slope. With more injuries and Joe Mauer inevitably not being able to maintain his .400 pace, the latter could be a real possibility.
But it is a long season, and anyone can be in position to call themselves Central Division Champions. If the Twins can just get a few strings of wins going, maybe getting over that .500 hump will help in that feat.
It might come down to game No. 162… or 163.
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