Pablo Lopez picked up his third victory and Max Kelper homered as the Twins beat the Red Sox 3-1 on Saturday at Target Field for their 12th straight win .
Then the Twins finally dropped a game, losing 9-2 to the Red Sox ending the second longest winning streak in Twins franchise history (15 straight in 1991). It's brought the Twins (19-14, second in the AL Central) back to within two games of first place Cleveland as they open a four-game home series against the Seattle Mariners (19-15, first in the AL West) Monday night.
Twins shortstop Carlos Correa says the winning streak can set the tone for the rest of their season.
"It was special, gives a lot of confidence moving forward," says Correa. "It's going to be a long season. We knew it wasn't going to last forever. At some point, you lose some games here and there but I think we played great, were very consistent for a long time and hopefully we can start a new one (Monday) and just keep on with the approach, keep on with the same same discipline, keep up with the same work and mentality."
Joe Ryan started Sunday for the Twins and pitched well despite taking the loss, going 6-innings and giving up 3 runs. He says there's still room for the team to improve.
"Throwing the ball pretty well, I wouldn't even say great, in general," says Ryan. "But the bullpen's been pretty solid. We've had some really good starts in there but offense has just been really fun to watch. Just stringing hits together, some big hits at right times, just really good at-bats. It's been exciting and good for us going forward."
Here's a quick series preview as the Twins will try to start another winning streak.
Minneapolis; Monday, 6:40 p.m.
PITCHING PROBABLES: Mariners: Luis Castillo (3-4, 3.46 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 49 strikeouts); Twins: Simeon Woods Richardson (1-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 13 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Mariners -132, Twins +111; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins host the Seattle Mariners on Monday to begin a four-game series.
Minnesota is 19-14 overall and 8-7 at home. The Twins have a 14-2 record in games when they record eight or more hits.
Seattle has an 8-7 record in road games and a 19-15 record overall. The Mariners have the second-ranked team ERA in the AL at 2.98.
The teams meet Monday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Ryan Jeffers has a .291 batting average to lead the Twins, and has 10 doubles and six home runs. Willi Castro is 18-for-43 with five RBI over the past 10 games.
Josh Rojas has four doubles, two triples and three home runs while hitting .360 for the Mariners. Jorge Polanco is 9-for-39 with a double and two home runs over the past 10 games.
Logan Gilbert throws 8 dominant innings in Mariners’ 5-0 victory over Astros
LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 9-1, .298 batting average, 3.80 ERA, outscored opponents by 27 runs
Mariners: 7-3, .211 batting average, 2.02 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs
INJURIES: Twins: Brock Stewart: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Byron Buxton: 10-Day IL (knee), Daniel Duarte: 60-Day IL (tricep), Zack Weiss: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Royce Lewis: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Josh Staumont: 15-Day IL (calf), Justin Topa: 15-Day IL (knee), Anthony DeSclafani: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josh Winder: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Mariners: Gregory Santos: 60-Day IL (lat), J.P. Crawford: 10-Day IL (oblique), Dominic Canzone: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Bryan Woo: 15-Day IL (elbow), Matt Brash: 15-Day IL (elbow), Eduard Bazardo: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jackson Kowar: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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