Minnesota Twins are Dangerously Close to Being the Best Team in the American League

It was a tough morning for the Minnesota Twins on Friday. (IF) Brooks Lee and (SP) Joe Ryan both hit the injured list, (RP) Brock Stewart needs season-ending shoulder surgery and top prospect (2B) Luke Keaschall needs a Tommy John procedure.

Twins sweep Guardians in doubleheader, despite difficult morning

But none of that seemed to matter during yesterday’s doubleheader vs the AL Central division leading Cleveland Guardians, who entered the day 3.5 games ahead of the Twins. Both games of the doubleheader were close, but Minnesota led most of the day, wire-to-wire.

After a 4-2 Twins victory yesterday afternoon, Josh Naylor hit a 5th inning home run in game two, that briefly gave Cleveland a 3-2 lead. It didn’t last long, though. Matt Wallner came to the plate with two runners on, one half inning later. He smacked a 3-run bomb of his own, to put the Twins back on top, 5-3.

The Minnesota Twins eventually get one more insurance run, sealing a 6-3 win and doubleheader sweep. Just like that, our favorite baseball team is only 1.5 games back of the Guardians in the AL Central. But it isn’t just Cleveland who has Minnesota quickly coming up, in their rearview.

Minnesota Twins eyeing peak of the AL mountain

Rocco Baldelli’s 65-50 ballclub now finds itself just three games back of the Baltimore Orioles, for 1st place in the American League. That’s right, only the Orioles, New York Yankees and Guardians sit between the Twins and a regular season AL title. With that would come a No. 1 playoff seed and 1st round postseason bye.

Related: Carlos Correa’s Timeline for Minnesota Twins Still Murky

Obviously, there are still a lot of games left (47 to be exact), and plenty yet to be decided. But if the now depleted Twins starting rotation can hold itself together for another 1.5 months, and the lineup can get back to full health, there’s no doubt this team can, at the least, win a division crown and earn a first round of rest.

In the semi-new MLB playoff format, the top two seeds from each league get to skip Wildcard weekend. There are three divisions (East, Central, West) in each league. The two division winners with the best records out of the three, earn the two top seeds.

Related: Louie Varland to Get Another Shot with Twins

As of today, the AL Central winner should be a lock for one of two American League byes. Both the Houston Astros and Seattle Mariners sit 5 games back of the Twins and 6.5 games behind the Guardians.

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• How Long Will Joe Ryan be out of Minnesota Twins’ Rotation?
• Kyle Farmer Takes Brooks Lee’s Spot on Minnesota Twins Roster Amid Flurry of Moves