ESPN’s David Schoenfield has released his first-half grades ($) for each MLB team, and he predictably was nonplussed with the Minnesota Twins. He gave them a C, asking if they missed an opportunity to run away with the AL Central. Pretty predictable stuff if you’ve followed the 45-46 Twins all year.
Schoenfield believes the Twins should have created more separation in the Central. He points out that they are 9-1 against the Kansas City Royals, but they’ll have to start beating other teams to stave off the Cleveland Guardians in the second half. He also touched on the issues with Minnsota’s lineup and expects more from Carlos Correa (92 OPS+) and Byron Buxton (101 OPS+).
But then he highlighted a stat that explains why the Twins win as many games as they lose.
Here’s a strange stat: The Twins are 8-4 in extra-inning games, but just 9-15 overall in one-run games, which helps explain why they’re 45-46 despite a plus-27 run differential.
You may have inferred that from watching the team all year. But it’s not as obvious as Minnesota’s success against Kansas City or Correa and Buxton’s struggles at the plate. Things may even out in extra innings, which is a bad sign for the Twins. But if their batters hit like they’re supposed to, they’ll play in fewer one-run games, so that may not matter.
