The Minnesota Twins woke up Tuesday morning in second place for the first time since April 17, as the Cleveland Indians got a walk-off homer from Carlos Santana to beat the Red Sox Monday night.
The dramatic victory completes Cleveland’s epic comeback, rallying from 11.5 games behind the Twins to reclaim the lead.
If the Indians go on to win the AL Central, it’ll be only the second time in the World Series era that a team has lost a division after growing a lead so large over the second-place team, according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark.
Now that the #Twins have fallen out of 1st place…
Only one team in the World Series era has ever held a lead of 11 1/2 G or more *over the 2nd-place team* in its league or division and NOT finished first:
The 1951 #Dodgers who lost to the Bobby Thomson Giants.
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) August 13, 2019
You literally have to go back to the year Bobby Thomson hit the “shot heard ’round the world” to find a collapse so epic.
Thomson hit a walk-off homer to give the New York Giants a 5-4 win over the Brooklyn Dodgers to win the National League in the final game of the season, finishing off a 13-game comeback.
Fortunately, the Twins still have a month and a half to reclaim the lead and win the division, and according to FanGraphs, Minnesota’s much easier remaining schedule makes them favorites to win the Central.
Chance to win the division, per FanGraphs:
- Twins: 54.1%
- Indians: 45.9%
Really, it’s been a tale of two seasons for the Twins and Indians. Minnesota was 40-18 and the Indians were 29-30 entering play June 4, and from then until now the Twins have gone 31-29 and the Indians lead the majors with a 43-17 record.
Cleveland’s current half-game lead equals their largest in the division this season.
For the scoreboard watchers out there, the Twins take on the Brewers at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday while the Indians and Red Sox play at 6:10 p.m., and that game includes a big-time pitching matchup between Mike Clevinger and Chris Sale.
