The Twins swept the San Francisco Giants on Sunday, officially putting the six-game losing streak in the rear view mirror and reminding the baseball world (OK, the AL Central) that they are not out of this thing just yet.
Losses to the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros told a completely different story, but then they blanked the Giants 9-0 on Friday, won on a walk-off walk on Saturday and then chased the Giants out of Target Field on Sunday, beating them 8-3.
Even better: Cleveland lost Sunday, so the Twins picked up another game on the division leaders and now trail the Guardians by only two games. The White Sox, meanwhile, are reeling. They are 2-8 over their last 10 games and now find themselves five games back of the Guards.
The Twins and Giants on Sunday scored all of their runs between the third and fifth innings. The Giants scored a run each in the third, fourth and fifth innings, while the Twins countered with a run, two runs and then stepped on the gas for a five-run fifth inning.
They scored eight runs on 11 hits, including a Jake Cave home run and six doubles. Carlos Correa, Max Kepler and Cave had six of the Twins’ 11 hits.
On the mound, reliever Devin Smeltzer earned the win, improving to 5-2 with a 3.71 ERA.
Up next, the Boston Red Sox come to town. Dylan Bundy gets the ball on Monday.
Extra innings…
-The Twins are 65-61.
-The Twins outscored the Giants 20-5.
-Saturday’s 3-2 walk-off win was a strange affair. The Twins were on the verge of losing 1-0 to a sacrifice fly when the Giants added a second run in the top of the ninth inning. The Twins rallied for two runs to send it to extra innings, and then Giants reliever Dominic Leone, with a Twins base runner at second base, walked three batters to give the Twins the walk-off walk win.