For a tantalizing 24-hour period, the Twins were in the playoffs after sweeping Atlanta. One weekend trip to San Diego later, and those good vibes were gone as the Friars did the sweeping. Fortunately for the Twins, all the other teams vying for that last spot in the Wild Card were similarly mediocre last week, so they only dropped a half-game out of the third wild card spot, compared to last week. This week will start easy with a trip to Sacramento to face the league-worst Athletics, and then the ChiSox will come to town hoping to solidify their hold on the AL Central crown.
The Past Week on Twinkie Town:
- Check out The Feed, where you can add your discussions about the Twins!
- We’re starting a new segment called Daily Questions! Provide your opinion on the Twins and debate with the community!
- Game threads and recaps are back! Commiserate with your fellow fans as we experience the season together.
- Zach Koenig reminds us of the one good memory from 2016 – Brian Dozier.
- Aidan O’Brien looks at why Twins fans should be excited about Emmanuel Rodriguez when, not if, he gets called up this season.
Elsewhere in Twins Territory:
- Bobby Nightengale at the Star Tribune explores how the Twins could follow the Padres’ example in rebuilding trust with their fanbase.
- Dan Hayes at The Athletic looks at why the Twins were excited to trade for Dean Kremer and how that move has already been paying off.
- John Shipley at the Pioneer Press catches up with former Twin Randy Dobnak, who’s finding success with the Royals this season.
- Matthew Trueblood at Twins Daily looks at why Trevor Larnach is now in a slump.
In the World of Baseball:
- With about one month to go in the regular season, the top-four spots in the American League – barring a 2025 Mets-esque collapse – seem pretty certain, with the Rays, White Sox, Yankees, and Red Sox. After that, the Astros and Rangers keep flip-flopping for the AL West lead, and the Guardians currently hold the 3rd wild card spot, although the Blue Jays, Twins, Orioles, Mariners, and even the Tigers (along with whoever doesn’t get the AL West crown) could easily compete for that playoff spot as well.
- The National League is a bit more neat, with the Milwaukee, Los Angeles, and Atlanta still comfortable holding the top spots in their divisions, and then Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Diego rounding out the next three. The Diamondbacks and Marlins seem to be the only other teams really in range, although the Cardinals could surprise us.
- We’re getting close to award season, and Bradford Doolittle at ESPN looks at who the frontrunners are for the major awards.
- The 2025 No.3 overall pick, Kade Anderson, made his debut for the Mariners on Saturday and Ryan Blake at Fangraphs evaluates his start and his prospects.
- Yesterday, Atlanta and Milwaukee faced off in the Little League Classic, and Courtney Hollmon at MLB.com looks at how Michael Harris II delivered for the fans.
