Twins continue to mash ahead of postseason; tie slam record

DENVER -- It doesn’t seem like it was all too long ago that the Twins’ baffling futility with bases loaded was cause for consternation. Now, those scenarios just seem like opportunities for yet another grand slam.

Even without grand slam king Royce Lewis on the active roster, the Twins just keep going -- and if it feels like this dizzying flurry of slams should be some sort of record, that’s because it is. Trevor Larnach’s grand slam in the third inning of the Twins’ 14-6 rout of the Rockies marked Minnesota’s eighth of the season, tying the club record that has stood since 1961.

As the Twins’ offense gears up for October, all that’s left to be determined is their opponent in the Wild Card Series. The Twins will host, starting Tuesday, either the Astros or Blue Jays, depending on the result of Sunday’s games.

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Of the 20 grand slams hit in the Majors since Aug. 27, six belong to the Twins, driven by the four hit in a 20-day span by Lewis. Matt Wallner hit another on Tuesday off Oakland right-hander Paul Blackburn, his second of the season. Carlos Correa and, now, Larnach have accounted for the other two.

“Baseball is a weird game,” said manager-for-a-day Kyle Farmer. “You never know when that opportunity is going to come. When bats are hot, it doesn’t matter if there is a runner on first or bases loaded. As you’ve seen with Royce, he doesn’t really shy away from that opportunity and he does a good job. Happy for Larnach tonight, as well, for getting that big hit.”

With one game remaining in the regular season, it’s unlikely that this year’s Twins will surpass the record set by the ‘61 club, for which Bob Allison (three), Harmon Killebrew, Dan Dobbek, Julio Becquer, Ted Lepcio and Bill Tuttle contributed the eight slams as part of the organization’s first season in Minneapolis following its relocation from Washington, D.C.

At this point, keeping this timely production going into the postseason is all that matters -- even as these individual games at the end of the regular season are inconsequential to the point that the Twins had two of their veteran players, Jorge Polanco and Farmer, co-manage Saturday’s game.

Even as the Twins have built in more rest for their key players (and waited for others to recover from injuries) following their clinch of the AL Central last Friday, they’ve maintained that offensive success, entering Saturday leading the Majors with 6.12 runs per game scored in September -- and that’s set to go up even more following Saturday’s win.

And though a surge of grand slams is hardly a sound way to evaluate an offense, it’s also worth noting that six of those eight slams this season have come from rookies -- Lewis and Wallner -- which could be an encouraging sign for not only this postseason, but also the years to come. The youngsters seem to be comfortable in those pressure situations -- and that could matter come the postseason.

“The grand slams? Guys are just taking good at-bats,” Polanco said. “No pressure. Making it simple. Go out there and get a good pitch to hit. They are just doing it.”

What a turnaround the Twins have seen in that regard. Before the All-Star break, the Twins were 10-for-62 with the bases loaded for a league-worst .161 average and only two extra-base hits.

Since integrating more rookies consistently into the mix in the second half, the Twins entered Saturday with a league-best 1.112 OPS and 194 wRC+ (a league-adjusted measure of overall offensive production) with the bases loaded.

That’s not just a situational uptick; it applies to the offensive production as a whole. Since the All-Star Break, the Twins had the third-best wRC+ in the Majors, along with the fourth-best on-base percentage, fourth-best slugging percentage and the best walk rate -- and that, too, was before Saturday.

“I’ve never seen it,” Farmer said. “Guys just being comfortable in the uncomfortable. Really honing in on that opportunity and they are delivering, which is awesome.”

That has coupled with the fortification of the bullpen in the last month, which had been a potential weak point of this roster but flexed its depth in Saturday’s bullpen game at Coors Field, with Emilio Pagán, Chris Paddack, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran combining for six scoreless innings before Caleb Thielbar allowed two homers in the seventh.

The Twins continue to play their best ball in September; it’s up to them to sustain into October.