The Minnesota Twins enter play Saturday one game over .500 (26-25) despite owning Major League Baseball’s second-lowest team ERA (3.39) and leading the majors in strikeouts (506).
How many times have fans been able to say the Twins have had some of the best pitching in the majors? It’s a rare opportunity and Minnesota hasn’t been able to capitalize because of a woeful offense.
For the season, the Twins are averaging 4.58 runs per game. That looks solid and actually ranks 11th in the big leagues, but it’s inflated significantly thanks to a three-game surge when they scored 35 runs against the Cubs and Dodgers May 13-15.
The Twins are actually 13th in the majors with 231 runs scored. That’s nice, but a bit of a mirage because 35 of those runs came in three games. Take those 35 off the board and Minnesota has averaged 3.84 runs in 48 of 51 games.
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What’s plaguing the Twins’ offense? For starters, they don’t make contact enough. Minnesota hitters have struck out an MLB worst 508 times and they boast a team battering average of .228, which ranks fourth worst in the big leagues.
Where they’re really struggling is with runners in scoring position. For the season, the Twins are 99-for-383 with runners in scoring position. That’s a .259 batting average, which actually ranks 10th in the majors. But again, that number is inflated because of the three-game burst when the Twins scored 35 runs May 13-15.
Remove those three games and the Twins have a .243 batting average with runners in scoring position in 48 of 51 games this season. That ranks among the bottom ten in MLB and it better represents who the Twins really are.
Who are the worst offenders? Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa.
Buxton is hitting .147 with RISP and Correa isn’t much better at .175. Combined, they have 74 at-bats with runners in scoring position and just 12 hits. The rest of the team is 87-for-309, good for a .281 batting average with runners in scoring position.
And if you think this is something new, it’s not. Buxton and Correa combined to hit .226 with runners in scoring position last season, though most of that was on Buxton who was 9-for-62 while Correa was 28-for-101 (.277).
It’s a painful truth when the two highest-paid hitters can’t get the job done.
The other stat that can’t be ignored is Minnesota’s dead last ranking with the bases loaded. The Twins have five hits in 45 at-bats with the bases loaded (.111 batting average) and all five hits are singles.
If the pitching is real and the bats come around, the Twins will truly be a dangerous team this season. But right now, Buxton and Correa are holding the Twins back.
