The Twins are playing their best baseball during the most crucial time of the season. Heading into the All-Star Break, the Twins had a record of 46-42 and were trailing the Chicago White Sox by 3.5 games. Those three days for the All-Star Break couldn’t have come at a better time for the Twins. They have been the hottest team in baseball since the All-Star break with a record of 21-8 and now have a two game lead over the Chicago White Sox.
This has turned into another two team race for the American League Central title, as the Detroit Tigers have fallen out of contention. Usually you can never count a team out in the AL Central, but being 10.5 games back, the Tigers have a lot of ground to make up and their pitching hasn’t been consistent enough.
This has turned into another two team race for the American League Central title, as the Detroit Tigers have fallen out of contention. Usually you can never count a team out in the AL Central, but being 10.5 games back, the Tigers have a lot of ground to make up and their pitching hasn’t been consistent enough.
The Twins on the other hand have the 3rd best team ERA since the all-star break, with an ERA of 3.37. There was concern that the Twins pitching wouldn’t be consistent enough to carry them into the playoffs, but they have shown that they are more than capable of being a top team and possibly make a run in the playoffs.
One player that really stands out to me is Brian Duensing, who was recently added to the rotation when Nick Blackburn was sent down to Triple-A Rochester to work on his overall game. Since joining the rotation, Brian has gone 3-0 with an ERA of 2.44, seven walks and fifteen strike outs. His latest outing was a pitching gem against the Oakland Athletics last night. He would throw his first career complete game, which ended up being a shutout. Look for Brian to remain in the starting rotation for the remainder of the season and possibly start the 2011 season in the rotation.
Looking at the remainder of the 2010 season for both the Twins and White Sox, the Twins appear to have the easier road to the playoffs. The White Sox still have to the play the Yankees at home, then have seven more games against the Red Sox. Whereas the Twins are Twins are done playing AL East teams during the regular season. This is a huge advantage for the Twins as the AL East is easily the toughest division in the American League.
However, there is still a lot of baseball to be played and the momentum could turn very quickly. The White Sox will return to Target Field for the last time this season next week for a huge series. This should be a very fun, exciting race for the AL crown, so buckle in for a wild ride.
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