The Twins welcomed the Dodgers and the Rockies to Target Field this past week, and it went pretty much how any fan would have expected. The Twins had some of the highest-attended games, with a sellout crowd on Wednesday of 39,853 to watch Shohei Ohtani duel Joe Ryan. Ironically, the team was woefully unprepared for the number of fans who showed up, with lines of people waiting outside until about the 3rd inning to get into the stadium (Source: me). That game was the final loss in a three-game sweep,
despite the Twins tagging Ohtani for two runs early in the start. The Rockies then arrived over the weekend, which included a Ludacris postgame concert, and the Twins were able to get a 2-1 series win. The team is now 40-45, still only two games out of the final wild card spot.
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 looks back at June 2006 and the resurgent Twins after a certain lefty starter made his way to the majors.
- Aidan Thomas explains why Walker Jenkins is an exciting prospect.
Elsewhere in Twins Territory:
- Cody Christie at Twins Daily checks in on the Twins’ attendance numbers this season – and why things are not looking good for the team.
- LaVelle E. Neal III at the Star Tribune recaps rookie Connor Preliepp’s excellent start on Sunday.
- Theo Tollefson at Zone Coverage looks at how Andrew Morris has grown this season, especially after settling into a new role in the bullpen.
- Dan Hayes at The Athletic discusses Marco Raya’s development in St. Paul this season, leading to his promotion to the big leagues last week.
In the World of Baseball:
- The Rays and Yankees are still battling for the top spot in the AL, with the Rays holding onto a one-game lead. The White Sox and the Guardians are now tied for the AL Central lead, although the White Sox have played two fewer games, while the Rangers have now managed to leap frog the Mariners and lead the AL West by half a game.
- The Dodgers took full advantage of their series against the Twins by jumping out to a 2.5-game lead over…the Brewers? Yup, Atlanta dropped a few additional games last week, and now what seemed like a pretty big lead in the NL East has now come down to three games over the Philles (remember when they sucked?). The Cubs and Cardinals round out teams #5 and #6 in the NL Wild Card race.
- There were several firings last week, with the Mets letting go of manager Carlos Mendoza and the Angels parting ways with GM Perry Minasian.
- David Purdum and Jeff Passan at ESPN reported on a new proposal introduced by the MLBPA in recent CBA discussions, which would ban prop betting on individual players.
- Jesse Rogers at ESPN covers the new proposal from the owners that would limit contract length for free agents.
- MLB owners recently proposed a dramatic change to how the amateur draft would work, restricting eligibility to players who are 20 years old and two years out of high school. Michael Baumann at Fangraphs looks at the implications of that change.
