Losing in New York is normal for the Minnesota Twins. They’re 13-53 at Yankee Stadium since 2002, so none of the losses in the Bronx this week have been surprising. But the reality about the 2022 Twins is that they haven’t proved capable of beating almost every good team they’ve faced, and have stayed relevant by playing in a weak division.
The Twins have faced 20 teams this season. Entering play Thursday, nine of the 20 have losing records and 11 boast a winning mark.
Against the 11 winners, Minnesota is a combined 31-43. That’s .418 win percentage, which translates to about 68 wins over the course of a 162-game season. They’re 36-25 against the other nine teams, or a .590 win percentage that translates to 95 wins in 162 games.
Let’s go one step further.
The Twins have played eight teams that, if the regular season ended today, would be in the playoffs: Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, Astros, Mariners, Guardians, Dodgers and Padres.
Minnesota is 19-31 against those eight clubs.
That’s a .380 win percentage that translates to 61 wins in a 162-game season. In other words, the Twins are the equivalent of a 100-loss team when facing teams currently bound for the postseason.
Yet, here they are, tied with the White Sox just two games behind Cleveland for first place in the AL Central with 27 games to go before the regular season ends Oct. 5.
Minnesota hosts Cleveland Friday-Sunday and then plays five at Cleveland Sept. 16-19, including a doubleheader on Saturday, Sept. 17. Take care of business in those games and do the same in the six remaining games against the White Sox and the Twins could find themselves with a chance to prove all of the stats wrong – in the playoffs.
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