MINNEAPOLIS -- At the end of another long, grueling season -- involving all of the requisite injuries, cross-country flights, drama and surprise typical to any baseball campaign -- the air in Minneapolis will cool down as the competition heats up when August turns to September.

The stretch run is about to begin -- and the Twins have seemed to be ramping up to meet that challenge.

Trailing the division-leading Guardians by 1 1/2 games ahead of an off-day, the Twins resume play on Friday against the White Sox with 33 more to go -- and 17 of those will come against Cleveland and Chicago, their two closest competitors in the American League Central. And though Minnesota saw its five-game winning streak end in a 6-5 loss to the Red Sox at Target Field on Wednesday, a resurgent homestand has put the Twins right back in position to take control of their destiny.

“We have a chance to get basically anywhere,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We have all the opportunities in the world in front of us right now. … We have a chance to go win our division, if we just go out there and play well. I love knowing we have it right in front of us.”

Though the Twins couldn’t erase an early 5-0 deficit on Wednesday created by a pair of errant Joe Ryan sliders that ended up as a Xander Bogaerts grand slam and a J.D. Martinez solo homer, they scored three late runs against the Boston bullpen and got themselves exactly where they would have wanted, down by one in the ninth inning: no outs, two on for Luis Arraez and Carlos Correa.

They couldn’t finish the job, but clutch hits from the lineup and big outs from the high-leverage arms of the bullpen that were absent at various points finally started to line up during this homestand. Take, for instance, Nick Gordon’s grand slam on Tuesday or Gio Urshela’s bases-clearing double on Monday, in addition to the clutch at-bats and huge innings that fueled the sweep of the Giants.

Minnesota’s starting rotation ranked sixth in the AL in both WAR and ERA in August, in the midst of the league’s other playoff contenders. The bullpen, the club’s Achilles heel in the first half, ranked second in the AL in WAR in August, is now anchored by Jhoan Duran and Jorge López. And even after a brutal slump during the Twins’ six-game losing streak, the offense rebounded to finish in the middle of the pack this month, averaging 6.5 runs per game during the homestand against San Francisco and Boston.

“We’ve been down a little bit and they’re coming back and putting together great at-bats,” Ryan said. “Defense has been great. And we’ve been throwing the ball pretty well. Two pitches tonight, it makes a difference, but I think we’re in a really good spot going forward.”

The race to the finish will begin with a three-game set against the White Sox and a challenging four-game series against the Yankees, the club’s historical nemeses, but in all likelihood, the outcome of the division will really hinge on a stretch from Sept. 9-19, when the Twins meet the Guardians for three games at Target Field and five more at Progressive Field. Six final matchups against the White Sox loom after that, including three at Guaranteed Rate Field to finish the season in early October.

And the Twins also figure to gain reinforcements along the way. Tyler Mahle will return to the rotation on Saturday in Chicago, and outfielders Trevor Larnach and Byron Buxton might not be far behind. As strong as the bullpen has been, the upside that standout rookie Josh Winder and steady right-hander Bailey Ober could bring to length roles in their anticipated returns from extended injuries could be significant.

A year ago, this team was in last place, limping to the finish line to conclude one of its most disappointing seasons in recent memory. Now, the Twins are right back in the mix for their third division title in four years -- and they can take control of their fate.

“This feeling, for me, is something unmatched,” Griffin Jax said. “It's something I've never felt before in baseball. It's definitely given me a big extra push when I show up, just knowing that it's something that we can grab.”

“I love the energy each day, and everyone is stoked to be here,” Ryan said. “No one is talking about plans for the offseason or anything. I think that’s always a great sign.”