Swept back to reality

Reds 7
Twins 4
10 innings

Well, what was your favorite "The 2026 Minnesota Twins are above .500" moment? 

A homestand that began with the Twins blasting the Red Sox and briefly having the best record in the AL concluded Sunday with the Twins choking away another game to the Reds and getting swept out of Target Field. 

The good vibes are gone. 

Sunday's game was virtually a rerun of Saturday. The Twins lead most of the game, then the bullpen blows it in the end.

Bailey Ober had a really good start, going 6+ with 1 run allowed and 10 strikeouts. The lineup scratched across a few runs. It looked like that would be enough to avoid the sweep and split the homestand.

The Twins demolished and yet to be rebuilt bullpen has been much discussed. They've already reached into AAA for reinforcements, and one of them, Andrew Morris, pitched a scoreless 8th. Then Derek Shelton sent him back out for the 9th, and...oh boy. Morris gave up a pair of singles to open the inning, then after getting an out, walked the bases loaded. Shelton walked out to the mound, but didn't pull Morris. That proved a fatal mistake, cause the next batter drove one into the gap, clearing the bases and putting the Reds ahead. I get the cupboard is bare, but you HAD to pull Morris.

That bastard Emilio Pagan, now a Red, came on for the save. And at least the Twins managed to tag him with a blown save, with a James Outman double and then an Austin Martin double to tie the game. But of course, even with just 1 out, we couldn't get Martin home and it was off to extras.

For years the Twins have been atrocious in extra inning games, and they delivered another disasterclass.
With Garrett Acton pitching, a grounder to 3rd wasn't played, and skipped into the outfield. It would have been 1st and 3rd, but Martin overran the ball, then inexplicably didn't even throw home, allowing the Reds to grab the lead right back. After the 2nd out, Shelton for reasons unknown called for an intentional walk. Then the Reds #8 hitter, batting under .100, drove one down the line to score both runners (one of them we just put on base for reasons) and it was 7-4. The Twins are just always the masters of giving up extra runs that put games out of reach. 

That was pretty much it. Swept. 4 straight losses. Back at .500.

I mean, I was mad about what happened, but really, should I be? That 8-1 stretch the Twins had was just one of those good weeks or so that every team has. It's fun in the moment, especially early in the season when we don't really know with certainty yet, but the Twins are not a good team.

They may have a pretty good rotation. They may even have a lineup with potential. But their defense is amateurish at times, and that bullpen is just going to be a deadly issue all season. We have a lot of late game implosions yet to come. 

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