Willi Castro practically won the Minnesota Twins’ road series against the Cincinnati Reds by himself. In Tuesday night’s win, Castro took four runs off the board and added two of his own. His heroics in the second game of the Cincinnati series started in the 4th inning when he made a diving catch to keep the score at 2-0 Twins. In the 7th inning, he homered to make it 6-0. In the bottom of that same inning, he robbed a home run for his second run-saving grab of the night.
On Wednesday afternoon, Castro hit a solo homer to get Minnesota on the board in the 7th inning after Hunter Greene had shut down the offense all day. Then in the bottom of the 9th, he ignited a rally by reaching on a bunt single and immediately advanced two bases on the next pitch thanks to a stolen base and an error. Castro isn’t a star like Carlos Correa or Royce Lewis, but he showed how hard he can play when the team needs it most.
Castro is gritty. He hustles in the field to make great catches and uses his speed on the basepaths to give Minnesota an automatic threat as soon as he reaches. He might not be able to win every game by carrying the team on both offense and defense, but if the Twins are going to make a legitimate playoff run for the first time in two decades, they should emulate his hustle.
Minnesota is currently dealing with some injury concerns to star players. Royce Lewis, Carlos Correa, and Byron Buxton are questionable for the playoff roster. They all could very well be ready to go by the time the Wild Card Series rolls around, and the Twins are optimistic that they will be. But they have shown that they are entirely capable of coming away with hard-fought wins no matter who’s in the lineup. Minnesota was without Lewis and Correa in Wednesday’s game, and the offense still managed to pull a comeback victory out of nowhere after being stymied for six innings.
Minnesota’s nine victories this season after trailing in the 9th inning or later are tied for the most in the majors this year. Getting Lewis, Correa, and Buxton back for the postseason would give them a major boost heading into October. But simply having your stars ready to go won’t win you games in the playoffs by itself. The entire team will need to contribute and be at their best for the Twins to make some noise in the postseason.
Twins fans are well aware that it’s been a long time since Minnesota has done anything in the postseason. They haven’t won a game since October 2004. There have been several playoff losses for the Twins where they have jumped out to an early lead only for it to slip away in the later innings.
In the regular season this year, Minnesota has shown a remarkable ability to do the opposite, falling behind early and then coming back to win time and again. The grit that the Twins have displayed this season is a big reason why many fans and members of the media feel that this time around will be different. If Minnesota just channels that grit on the big stage, they will be a tough out for any opponent.
