Twins Get Healthier, Schedule Gets Easier

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Your own Minnesota Twins are 20-15 and hold a three-game lead in the American League Central entering the back-half of May. It’s just the third time over the last decade that the Twins have tallied 20 wins by May 15 (2019, 2015).

And fortunes should only turn for the better from here. The roster should get healthier by the day, during their current road trip vs the A’s and Royals. Carlos Correa and Trevor Larnach have both been partaking in “baseball activities” recently and are expected back sometime this week. Same goes for pitchers Dylan Bundy and Bailey Ober.

Kyle Garlick will return to the lineup Monday night and he’ll bat No. 3 vs Oakland left-hander, Zach Logue. Why? Because Kyle Garlick takes the form of a right-handed Barry Bonds vs lefty pitchers. In 18 plate appearances vs odd-handed throwers in 2022, Garlick is batting .357 with 3 HR, 6 RBI and a 1.500 OPS. He doesn’t even have an average in his 8 plate appearances vs righties. His career splits vs RHP/LHP are much of the same.

Breezy Schedule

Then there’s the upcoming Minnesota Twins schedule, which has to be the easiest of all MLB teams through the rest of May. Look at this setup. It’s quite incredible.

The most difficult part of May is now over, a 6-game stretch the Twins just completed on Sunday vs the Astros and Guardians. They finished 2-4, recovering to take 2 of 3 vs Cleveland, after being swept last week by Houston.

The Twins’ final series in May vs Detroit will be 5 games, thanks to a double-header they’ll squeeze in. So that’s a total of 18-straight games vs competition with a winning percentage of .405 or lower. The Oakland A’s, who the Twins swept earlier this month, are one of just two teams that has a roster making less than $50 million on the season (Spotrac). The Twins are spending $137 million and the Dodgers $289 million.

Perfect Storm for Wins?

Now, with the roster getting healthier (fingers crossed) and the schedule getting easier, it’s time for Minnesota Twins to make some hay and wedge some cushion between themselves and the other two competitive teams in the AL Central. Because June looks like a different monster, including 8 more games vs the Guardians and series vs the AL East Yankees, Rays and Jays.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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