Twins swept in 3-6 road trip: 'It wasn't pretty'

Kenta Maeda pitched like the stopper the Twins needed to snap this losing streak. The offense still hasn’t caught up.

It has now been a full week since Minnesota’s scuffling offense last scored more than three runs. Facing Cleveland’s pitching staff will certainly do that to a team, but things arguably got even worse against the Tigers. Two days off didn’t do much to rejuvenate the bats, and neither did facing a trio of winless starters with ERAs north of 7.00. After a 3-2 loss to Detroit on Sunday afternoon, securing a sweep, the Twins’ losing streak has now hit five.

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There’s no sugarcoating how tough it has been for Minnesota’s offense, as even manager Rocco Baldelli, normally one to find a silver lining for his team, didn’t have one this time.

“The road trip was a rough one,” Baldelli said. “Every time we felt like maybe we were getting something going or on a little roll -- maybe we wouldn’t execute, maybe something wouldn’t go our way. It wasn’t pretty baseball from the beginning.”

At the start of this nine-game road trip through Kansas City, Cleveland and Detroit, the Twins were a first-place team despite a lack of expected offensive production. They will return to Target Field for an eight-game homestand as a third-place club seeking any answers on offense -- whether via the return of injured contributors or an acquisition by Monday’s 3 p.m. CT Trade Deadline.

The Twins have now dropped five straight games for the first time since 2018, including a three-game sweep to the Tigers for the first time since ‘16. They scored 28 runs on this nine-game trip, but 12 were clumped in only two games against Kansas City.

“We're definitely upset about it, for sure, as a team, as a clubhouse,” veteran catcher Alex Avila said. “As a team, we have to understand, 'Hey, we had a bad week. We had been playing well up until this point or this road trip and put ourselves in a position to be able to absorb a stretch like this. But at the same time, there's 25 games left. Let's continue to keep playing and working hard and kind of refocus on what we know we can do well.'”

For a third straight game, the Twins were held to only two runs on four hits despite facing a starting pitcher that had struggled this season -- in this case, Tigers top prospect Casey Mize. The 23-year-old right-hander struggled with his command as he issued two walks and hit three batters in a three-inning outing, and the Twins scratched across a pair of early runs on a second-inning wild pitch and a third-inning solo homer by Jorge Polanco.

But upon Mize’s exit, relievers Tyler Alexander, Joe Jiménez, Buck Farmer and Gregory Soto held the Twins to only three singles the rest of the way while Detroit pulled ahead on a pair of solo homers by Jeimer Candelario and Jonathan Schoop. Minnesota’s most promising opportunity came in the seventh when Miguel Sanó walked to bring up Nelson Cruz as the go-ahead run, but the Majors’ home run leader struck out on four pitches.

Maeda struck out eight without a walk in six frames, inducing 15 swings and misses, but he had little wiggle room because of the quiet offense. Three runs off the right-hander proved enough to hand Maeda his first loss of the season.

Baldelli has cited his team’s preparation and approach all season as reasons why he felt the sluggish offense would pick up. He again expressed that sentiment following Sunday’s loss, while also indicating a continued focus on attacking fastballs more effectively throughout his lineup. What happens from here?

“We have to focus and control what we can control, just go out there and do our best, show a little bit more intensity,” Cruz said before Sunday’s loss. "I think that's something where we need to be aware of as a team, know who we are as a team.

The Twins have erupted in single-game bursts this season but haven’t been able to build any momentum. Perhaps the return of Josh Donaldson or Byron Buxton or Mitch Garver could provide a bigger jolt, or a titanic performance from a hitter or two.

Whatever it is, the Twins don’t have too much time to figure it out.

“When they talk about how hitting’s contagious, it’s also contagious the other way, where when everyone’s struggling, sometimes guys, it’s just human nature to try to do too much and force the issue,” Avila said. “You just have to trust that the talent will be there as long as the work is put in, which it is.”