After utterly dismantling the hapless Cubs Saturday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins ran their record to a lackluster 24-34 mark. But has anyone outside the great state of Minnesota noticed how they got there? The Twins have now won nine of their past 11.
In that 11-game stretch, the Twins have outscored their opposition 59-41. Scott Diamond -- Saturday's starter -- is now 5-1 with a 1.61 ERA, 28 strikeouts and just four walks this season. The bullpen has been a ton better of late, sporting a 1.86 ERA in the month of June. Josh Willingham is hitting .381/.469/.690 with 13 RBI during this hot 11-game stretch. Trevor Plouffe has five homers, 10 RBI and a 1.200-plus OPS in the same span.
So how is this happening? This was the worst team in baseball for much of the first two months. Well, the schedule hasn't hurt. After a five-game losing streak, the Twins swept the A's in three games, then took two of three from both the Indians and Royals before taking the first two games of their series with the Cubs. The Indians are good, yes, but the other three teams are of the sub-.450 variety (and the Cubs are right with the Padres for the worst-team-in-baseball title).
Still, you can only play the games on the schedule, and the Twins' upcoming slate isn't overly terrifying, either, until they get the Reds and White Sox in back-to-back series in late June. After one more against the Cubs, the Twins play the injury-riddled Phillies, the injury-riddled/underachieving Brewers, and the surprising-yet-still-not-overly-talented Pirates. If they stay hot, the Twins can crawl back into the AL Central race.
Considering the collapses we saw in the last month last season, the Twins certainly bear watching here in June, even as a current last-place team.
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