A .500 record might not seem like much to an observer of the standings.
However, for the Minnesota Twins, their .500 mark is meaningful and provides optimism this season.
After starting 7-15 and holding a 13-20 record a little more than a week ago, Minnesota has won seven games in a row to reach .500 for the first time in 2025.
The Twins will try to keep their winning streak going when they play the San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon in the finale of a three-game series in Minneapolis.
Minnesota will try for its second series sweep in a row after knocking off the Baltimore Orioles in three straight games earlier in the week.
“It feels great,” Twins right-hander Joe Ryan said. “Vibes are really good. It doesn’t feel streaky, either. We’re beating good teams, and we’re beating them with quality baseball. So that just adds another layer of confidence.”
San Francisco is eager for a spark at the plate after losing the series opener 3-1 on Friday and then 2-1 on Saturday. The Giants have only five runs in their past three games after scoring 14 on Tuesday in an 11-inning win over the Chicago Cubs.
“I felt a little more energy (Saturday),” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “There were times when I thought we could overcome it, but we couldn’t.”
Right-hander Landen Roupp (2-3, 4.89 ERA) will try to help salvage a game for the Giants in the series finale. Roupp has lost back-to-back games, including his most recent outing, in which he gave up four runs (two earned) on five hits in five innings Monday in a 9-2 loss to the Cubs.
Roupp never has faced the Twins in his career. He is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA in seven games (three starts) against interleague opponents.
The Twins will counter Sunday with right-hander Pablo Lopez (3-2, 2.18 ERA), who is scheduled to make his seventh start of the season. Lopez has 37 strikeouts in 33 innings.
In his most recent start, Lopez held the Orioles to one run on two hits over five innings on Monday. He walked one and struck out a season-high 11 in a 9-1 victory.
Lopez has made five career starts against the Giants, going 0-1 with a 2.10 ERA.
Twins third baseman Royce Lewis hopes to break out of a slump that has hounded him since he returned from an injury (strained hamstring) last week. Lewis went 0-for-3 on Saturday and is 0-for-13 for the season.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said he saw good signs from Lewis, 25, to indicate that he could end his cold start soon.
“He’s finding his timing and finding his swing and working hard every day to do that, and that’s where he’s at right now,” Baldelli said. “We’ve seen some good passes and good at-bats from him, and now it’s just stacking those upon each other.
“(It’s about) finding that consistency at the plate. Finding that vision at the plate. Seeing the ball where he wants to see it, so he can attack the pitches he wants to. He’s basically working to get where he needs to be, and that’s fine.”
–Field Level Media
