Time is running out on the Minnesota Twins in their bid for a wild-card playoff berth.
Minnesota (81-76) will try to bounce back when it hosts the National League-worst Miami Marlins (58-99) on Wednesday night in Minneapolis. The Twins dropped the series opener 4-1 on Tuesday, which gave them three losses in a row and five in their past six games.
The Twins dropped two games behind the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers in the American League wild-card playoff chase with five games to go. A rally is possible, but the mood is dour for a Minnesota team that has gone 11-23 since Aug. 18.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli tried to explain his team’s downturn, especially on offense. Minnesota has not scored more than four runs in eight straight games, and it has been outscored 21-5 in the last three contests with so much on the line.
“There’s no excuses to be given,” Baldelli said. “We just have to keep having good, better, more positive at-bats, and then the outcomes will follow.”
Yet Baldelli acknowledged that his team did not have the luxury of time.
“What do we have, five games left?” Baldelli said. “In my head, we always go one game at a time, but we’ve got to win a bunch of games right now. This is well past just us needing to play good baseball. We need to win. And we know that.”
The Marlins know they have five games to go before a long offseason that could include a change at manager. Miami won for only the third time in the past 10 games, which helped the Marlins avoid their first 100-loss season since 2019 for at least one more day.
Marlins shortstop Xavier Edwards will try to stay hot at the plate after going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs in the series opener. Jonah Bride also had a big day as he went 3-for-5 with a solo home run.
Connor Norby went 0-for-3 at the plate for Miami but got valuable experience at third base. The rookie is converting from second base and does not have a long history at third but sees value in making starts there as the season winds down.
“If I’m going to learn third, the best way is to play third, and I need some game reps,” Norby said. “I think that’s the only way.”
Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (5-5, 4.00 ERA) is set to make his 28th start of the season. He will try to build upon his last start, during which he allowed one run on five hits in 4 2/3 innings against the Cleveland Guardians last Thursday. He took a no-decision in a game Cleveland won 3-2 in 10 innings.
Woods Richardson never has faced the Marlins in his career. He is 2-3 with a 4.75 ERA in 10 interleague appearances (nine starts).
Miami will counter with right-hander Edward Cabrera (4-8, 5.12). He is set to make his 20th start of the season.
Cabrera will try to bounce back from a rocky performance in his last start. He gave up seven runs on four hits and five walks in 2 1/3 innings in a 20-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday.
This will be Cabrera’s first career appearance against the Twins.
–Field Level Media
