The race for the final wild-card spot in the American League playoff race is down to four teams, with the Houston Astros leading the way against the Twins, Angels and Indians.
Prior to Houston’s win over the Angels on Monday, Houston was on pace to win 86 games, according to Sports Illustrated. The Twins would need to win 10 of the final 13 games to match that total.
“We can win,” said outfielder Torii Hunter, according to the Star Tribune. “We can get this wild card.”
Brian Dozier added: “Well, we can’t wait around to see what happens. We’ve got to go.”
As the Houston Chronicle notes, the Astros have been bad on the road and excellent at home – and most of the players on their team have never gone through a playoff push like this. Houston plays its next five games at home against the Angels and Rangers before finishing the regular season with six straight road games against Seattle and Arizona.
All the Twins can do is take care of their own business, and job No. 1 is finding a way to beat Indians right-hander Danny Salazar at Target Field Tuesday night.
Salazar is 2-0 against the Twins this season and he’s struck out 21 of the 46 batters he’s faced. The Twins counter with Ervin Santana, who has been sensational his last four outings, going at least seven innings in each while allowing two earned runs or fewer.
Cleveland is Minnesota’s opponent in seven of the final 13 games, and they’re just a game-and-a-half behind the Twins entering Tuesday’s series opener.
Rick Manning on the @Indians' upcoming road trip: "They're gonna have to really beat up on Minnesota" http://t.co/VrMePnVqG0
— FanDuel Sports Network Cleveland (@FanDuelSN_CLE) September 21, 2015
