For the first time ever, the Chicago White Sox have swept a four-game series from the Twins at home, adding grave insult to an already terrible year. There’s also this unfortunate reality: the South Siders actually are a team on the rise while the Twins are nothing more than a handful of recent acquisitions and minor league callups.
The result is this: the Twins are a bad team, and if this roster is the same plan for next season, we are looking at a 100-loss campaign in 2026.
The starting pitching has been OK, but the bullpen has been an absolute mess. It’s hard to believe this is the same team that took two of three games from the San Diego Padres. How did that happen?
Over the four-game series, which concluded Thursday, the Twins lost 6-5, 12-3, 4-3 and 11-8.
Taj Bradley allowed four runs on eight hits across five innings on Thursday, but he also struck out seven batters and walked only one on 91 pitches.
And then it went downhill so fast.
The Twins held a 7-4 lead after six innings and then reliever Travis Adams served up four runs, Genesis Cabrera coughed up one more and then Noah Davis, who somehow still has a role with this team despite an 18.00 ERA, allowed two more runs, although only one was earned. Kody Clemens hit a solo shot in the ninth, his 15th, but it was too little, too late in the 11-8 loss.
Not that it matters, but the Twins now head to Kansas City. Pablo Lopez, long absent from the team because of an injury, is expected to get the ball Friday. There’s that, I guess.
Extra innings…
–The Twins are 62-78. That’s right: 16 games under .500.
–The bright spots: the Twins cranked out 15 hits and rookie sensation Luke Keaschall, Oregon State man Trevor Larnach and Vanderbilt dude Austin Martin had 10 of the team’s 15 hits. Those three keep hitting. Kudos to them.
–The weak spots: Why are James Outman and Ryan Fitzgerald still in the lineup? Outman is hitting .126 and he struck out three times in Thursday’s loss. Fitzgerald is hitting. 200.
–A long night at the ballpark: Thursday’s game was delayed 90 minutes by rain, then took three hours and 26 minutes to complete.
–All four White Sox wins were come from behind wins. All were bad, but perhaps Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s losses were the most humbling. On Wednesday, the Twins took a 3-1 lead into the ninth inning and then watched the bullpen blow up and allow three runs in the top of the inning for a 4-3 loss. And on Tuesday, the Twins took a 3-1 lead into the fifth inning and then the Pale Hose responded with 11 unanswered runs for a 12-3 win.
–And we used to think closer Ron Davis was bad.