The month of June was a whirlwind for the Minnesota Twins. It felt like it dragged on for an entire season.
Let’s begin with a broad overview of the month, followed by an examination of the key moments and players of the month.
The overview
The Twins came into the month five games above .500 and were in second place in the AL Central behind the Detroit Tigers.
However, since the calendar flipped to June, the Twins went 9-18, having won just one of the eight series they played in and splitting another. That’s six series losses, and the one series win was over the Athletics to begin the month.
While the team’s offense has been lackluster for most of the year, some players seemed to see the ball really well throughout June.
Minnesota’s pitching staff was the true Achilles heel of the month.
There was little indication that it would get as bad as it did. After most of Minnesota’s pitchers started the season slowly, the pitching staff was one of the best in baseball after May.
However, they were the worst in baseball in June. It was the worst June in Minnesota’s history when it came to their pitching production, posting an ERA of 6.07.
Key moments
June 3 was the biggest moment for the Twins this year. Pablo López left his start due to a shoulder injury, and the team learned that they would be without their ace for 8 to 12 weeks. That’d mean he’d return around late August or early September. Since his departure from the team, the Twins only won 7 of their final 24 games in June.
The Twins received further bad news on June 8 when right-hander Zebby Matthews, 25, landed on the IL alongside López, also with a shoulder injury.
After losing López and Matthews, depth was a priority for the team. On June 11 and 12, the Twins made two moves that affected their pitching staff. They picked up Joey Wentz off waivers to help with that lack of depth. However, the Twins then traded an up-and-down Jorge Alcala to the Boston Red Sox the very next day.
On June 13, the Twins lost Royce Lewis, who was struggling with a slash line of .202/.282/.303, to a hamstring strain. That was shortly after a few rehab starts, two as a designated hitter and one at third base, in Triple-A. He returned to the lineup on July 30, and the Twins sent a struggling Jonah Bride down to St. Paul in the corresponding move.
The Twins used Bride more as a pitcher than a hitter. He has been struggling at the plate, but has helped the Twins rest a bullpen they had to patch together, at least three to four innings, because so many teams had blown them out in June.
On June 23, we learned that the team has been facing low morale in the clubhouse, which led Carlos Correa to speak with the Twins front office.
Needless to say, most of these moments, although mostly troubling, were significant factors in how the month of June unfolded.
Bailey Ober needs to leave June behind him
Not only were there moments in June that led to what has become a long season, but some players were crucial throughout the month, both bad and good.
Let’s continue with the bad.
As stated earlier, the pitching in June went into a free fall.
Arguably, nobody felt it worse than Bailey Ober. In what was previously shaping up to be a strong season, Ober’s mechanics went haywire throughout the month.
Ober pitched 30 innings in June and went 0-5 with a 9.00 ERA, striking out 24 and walking 8. The question for Ober now becomes whether he can turn it around.
Some of Minnesota’s hitters stopped hitting
On the offensive side of the diamond, after a strong May, Harrison Bader seemed to have regressed. Bader hit .322/.406/.508 in May, Bader hit .194/.253/.319 in June, bringing his season average to .249.
He had only two homers and six RBIs while striking out 26 times, after only striking out nine times in May.
On the other hand, Matt Wallner has not been the same since coming back from a hamstring injury that he suffered on April 15. Wallner hit .159/.239/.390 with five HR, eight RBIs, eight walks, and 28 strikeouts in June.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Twins.
The Twins wasted some outstanding performances
Joe Ryan has been picking up the pieces of an otherwise spiraling starting rotation.
Ryan went 3-1 with a 3.49 ERA over 28 and a third innings in June. However, Ryan had the best record amongst the starting rotation and was the only starter to be above .500 in June.
On offense, Byron Buxton and Brooks Lee have been vital for the offense all month, while Carlos Correa has started to find his stride later in the month.
Buxton has been seemingly unstoppable since returning from a concussion he suffered in May.
I recently covered Buxton’s recent success, so I won’t go into depth here. But to say he has been a bright spot for the Twins would be an understatement.
Brooks Lee and Correa have also ridden healthy hitting streaks during the month.
In June, Lee got a hit in all but two games. His success led to a 19-game hit streak, followed by a six-game streak, which ended on June 29. Lee stayed healthy in June and had a .348 average with 4 HR, 16 RBIs, and 23 strikeouts.
On the other hand, Correa’s eight-game hit streak came to an end on June 29. He ended June with a .269 with two HR, ten RBIs, and 21 strikeouts. He’s had better months, but these positives are at least something fans can hold onto while searching for hope.
The season is more than halfway through, so fans have every right to be frustrated with the product the Twins are putting out there. It occasionally felt, and looked, like this Twins team has played 162 games in 30 days – and the league has yet to reach the All-Star break.
