The Kansas City Royals (58-89) will host the Minnesota Twins (73-74) on Tuesday night. In the first game of a three game contests. The Royals held a 10-9 edge in the season series in 2021, but this year the Twins have dominated winning 12 out of the 16 meetings.
The Twins have not been mathematically eliminated, but they are pretty close. Minnesota lost to Cleveland 11-4 on Monday. Now with 15 games left on their schedule, Minnesota trails Cleveland by seven games for first in the AL Central and are down to a 0.4% chance to make the postseason, according to ESPN.
Twins trailed 4-0 after 2, but they are coming back. Listen here to Nick Gordon's 419 foot homer in the 6th, his 9th of the season. It is now a 4-3 game, Twins with bases loaded and one out in the 6th… pic.twitter.com/TeZ2ekPbQn
— TwinsRadio (@TwinsRadio) September 19, 2022
The Twins just haven't been good enough. They are an average team with an average record, also battling injuries. They are 12th in batting average and home runs and 17th in runs scored. Byron Buxton has superstar potential but has constantly dealt with injuries and has only played more than 92 games in a season once since making his big league debut in 2015. In 92 games this year, Buxton has 28 home runs and 51 RBI. He has not played since August 22, and Minnesota has gone 10-14 since.
The Twins' pitching is 19th in ERA, and on Tuesday, they will turn their slim postseason hopes over to Dylan Bundy. Bundy has allowed two runs in four innings against teh Royals this season. He is 8-7 with a 4.68 ERA overall but 4-5 with a 5.28 ERA in road games.