Minnesota Twins Clinch AL Central; Celebrate Accordingly

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MLB: Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins
Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota Twins clinch AL Central: The Twins are going back to the playoffs. It only took 82 victories but, in all reality, that part doesn’t matter. With their 8-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night, Rocco Baldelli’s club clinched the AL Central crown and guaranteed themselves a spot in the postseason.

It was a somewhat back-and-forth game but, much like it has quite often lately, the Twins came out on top, thanks to clutch hitting and timely big plays. Alex Kirilloff hit a home run, Kyle Farmer (in for injured Carlos Correa) went 2 for 3 with an RBI and 2 walks. The Angels battled until the very end but couldn’t quite complete their 9th inning comeback.

Minnesota Twins clinch AL Central

Whether it’s 82 wins or 90, when the dust settles on the 2023 regular season, the Twins are going to the MLB Playoffs as the 3-seed in the American League. Thus, they celebrated accordingly after the victory (and still are).

This is the Twins’ 64th season in Minnesota. They’ve made the playoffs 14 times and won the World Series twice, in 1987 and 1991. It’s their 3rd time making the playoffs, in the last 5 seasons. I wouldn’t be doing my job properly, however, if I didn’t mention the Twins’ current 18-game postseason losing streak, which spans back to 2004.

The last time the Twins won a playoff series was 2002 vs the Oakland Athletics. 20 years without a playoff series win is the 2nd longest streak without a playoff series win in the MLB, behind only the Cincinnati Reds (27 years).

Related: Minnesota Twins Possible 1st Round Playoff Opponents Ranked

Call me crazy but this feels like the year the Minnesota Twins put an end to all of their bad postseason karma. That could depend on whether or not Royce Lewis and Carlos Correa return healthy enough to produce the way the Twins need them to.

But tonight, we celebrate.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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