The Twins on Sunday got exactly what they needed before they face the New York Yankees: a 5-1 win over the Chicago White Sox and a Cleveland Guardians loss (their fifth straight), which means the Twins and Guards are tied for the AL division lead at 68-64.
Once again, the Twins didn’t hit that well with runners in scoring position (1-for-9), but they connected on four extra-base hits — two doubles, a triple and a Carlos Correa home run — to get the job done. They also got five good innings of two-hit baseball out of Dylan Bundy and four relievers allowed only one run the rest of the way. Correa, Jose Miranda, Max Kepler and Jake Cave had eight of the Twins’ 12 hits.
The Twins have six more games against the South Siders before the 2022 season is in the books, and they need to make sure that Bundy gets a start in both remaining series because — get this — he is undefeated against the White Sox. He improved to 7-0 lifetime against the Sox after Sunday’s win. As for this season, Bundy is now a respectable 8-6 with a 4.34 ERA.
Chris Archer gets the ball Monday in New York. Archer alone has me worried facing the Yankees, but a check of his career numbers versus the Bombers shows he is 7-7 with a very low ERA of 3.03. Have a little faith, right?
Extra innings…
-Starting pitcher Tyler Mahle is back on the 15-day injured list again, his second stint on the list since being acquired by the Twins before the trade deadline. I have to ask: How carefully are the Twins checking players like Mahle before making a deal? During the offseson, the Twins also acquired former San Diego Padres pitcher Chris Paddack and it wasn’t long before he needed Tommy John surgery. It’s starting to feel like the Twins are dealing in damaged goods.
-The Twins are 1-2 against the Yankees this season after they dropped a home series to the Pinstripers in June. Their one win was an 8-1 blowout, the victory going to Archer.