After 30 games, Twins tied with Oakland for American League lead at 20-10
Miguel Sano #22 of the Minnesota Twins celebrates with Eddie Rosario #20 after Sano's two-run home run in the sixth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on August 24, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Twins defeated the Indians 3-2. ((Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - It feels like the Major League Baseball season just got started, but the Minnesota Twins are already halfway through and are one of the best teams in the American League.
The Twins beat the Cleveland Indians 3-2 Monday night at an empty Progressive Field and are now 20-10 at the midpoint of a 60-game regular season. They’re tied with the Oakland Athletics for the best record in the American League, and only the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League have a better overall record at 22-8.
The Twins now have a 2.5 game lead over both the Indians and the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central Division. Despite seven players being on the injured list and missing 60 percent of their starting rotation, the Twins have won three straight and are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
“In a normal year you’re going to need a lot of people to step up. I think in a year like this, with this 2020 abbreviate season, you need everybody even more,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after the win.
The Twins got their offense from Nelson Cruz and Miguel Sano. Cruz tied it 1-1 with a solo homer to right, and Sano hit a two-run, go-ahead homer in the sixth. Cruz has 11 homers on the season, which is tied for second in all of baseball, and 412th of his career to tie Alfonso Soriano for 54th on the all-time list. Cruz also has seven homers in his last 10 games.
Sano, who missed most of Summer Camp coming back from a positive COVID-19 test, hit his sixth homer Monday night and now has an extra base hit in eight straight games. That ties Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew for the second-longest streak in team history.
“He’s definitely doing all the little things to show out there all the big numbers he’s put up the last few weeks,” Cruz said.
“I don’t know how much more impactful a bat can be than what he’s been recently. The at bats are excellent, he is scalding balls. He really does make a ballpark look tiny when he hits the ball on the barrel,” Baldelli said.
The night, again, belonged to Kenta Maeda on the mound. Coming off throwing 115 pitches and taking a no-hitter against the Milwaukee Brewers into the ninth inning, Maeda went five innings Monday night and allowed only one run on five hits while striking out seven and walking just one.
Maeda improved to 4-0 on the season through seven starts with a 2.21 earned run average. Only two other pitchers in Twins history, unbeaten through seven starts, have a lower ERA: Bill Krueger in 1992 and Brian Duensing in 2009.
With Rich Hill and Homer Bailey battling injuries, and Jose Berrios looking to find consistency, Maeda has been the best starter for the Twins.
“He put us in position to win a game when I think a lot of people would find ways to have a tough time with that. It’s tough to come back from after a performance like he had, to do what he did tonight. We needed it, and he did it,” Baldelli said.
The two teams are back at it again Tuesday night. It’s fair to expect low-scoring, tight games between these two teams the rest of the way.
“This has been our entire season in a nutshell today. Guys stepping up, winning close ball games, pitching and defense and trying to get runs across the board any way we can,” Baldelli said.