How do you get over the fact that the Twins are headed to another 90-plus loss season, and could end up in last place in the American League Central again?
You hope they embrace the spoiler role like Kyle Rudolph embraced that one-handed grab in the end zone yesterday. Grab it. Tuck it away. Feel good about yourself.
Tonight, the Twins take on the extremely-hated-by-some New York Yankees to kick off the final Target Field homestand of 2012. Liam Hendriks starts for the Twins, as he seeks his second major league victory. The last time we saw this Aussie, he was wiping shaving cream off of his kisser, after beating Cleveland for career win No. 1:
What’s at stake? The Yankees are in first place in the American League Central, but they only lead Baltimore by one game. If Minnesota can somehow string together a few wins and knock New York into the Wild Card slot, that would make it a lot tougher for the Yankees to advance in the playoffs. This year, the Wild Card teamsstart with one-and-done games in order to advance to the ALDS.
This past weekend, the Twins played spoiler in Detroit, winning two of three against the Tigers, who are chasing the White Sox for the AL Central title. Detroit had a shot to move into first place Sunday, but fell further behind Chicago after getting swept by Minnesota in a day-night doubleheader.
