Before 2023, if you were a fan of both an AL and an NL team that were not a part of the same divisions of their respective leagues, you would be lucky if you saw them play against each other once every three years. Therefore, the Minnesota Twins rarely played the Colorado Rockies.
However, since 2023, MLB has required each team to play at least one series against each of the other 29 teams per season. That has made it much easier to see these teams match up at your closest ballpark at least every other season.
This weekend, fans of both the Twins and the Rockies were able to watch this matchup of the mids in Minnesota. It came at an interesting time for both clubs.
The Twins had to get back on track against the Rockies
Minnesota entered this series off a tough home series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, where LA swept them in three games by a combined score of 7-18. While that series score is lopsided, it doesn’t show the two one-run losses the Twins took on both sides of a nine-run rout.
The Twins were also winners of three series before that. Therefore, they entered the Colorado series one and a half back in the last wild card spot, four and a half back in the division, and six games below .500.
Meanwhile, the Rockies entered the series with the worst record in baseball at 32-49. However, they had won their last two series against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Red Sox. The Twins have played Pittsburgh and Boston: the Pirates swept them at the end of May, and Minnesota swept the Red Sox.
With the trade deadline right around the corner, the Twins have some big names rumored to be on the trade block, including Joe Ryan, Ryan Jeffers, and Byron Buxton. Remaining in contention would hopefully allow them to buy, or at least avoid, a large deadline sale. By contrast, the Rockies will be selling again, because they are on track for their eighth straight losing season.
The Twins needed a get-right series against Colorado and took two of three.
The series
In Game 1, Taj Bradley faced Tomoyuki Sugano, Colorado’s ace on the season.
After home runs from Kody Clemens and Brooks Lee, the Twins were up 4-0 after two. They went up 7-0 after five, after Josh Bell ripped a two-run double to left.
The game looked like it was all Twins, but they ran into trouble in the eighth. The Rockies chased Bradley with a double and a walk, which led to a three-run inning after Kody Funderburk came in for relief.
The ninth led to more disaster for the team as Jake McCarthy and Hunter Goodman both homered, giving the Rockies an 8-7 lead.
The Twins tied the game with a Buxton single, sending this wild game into extra innings. After some lights-out pitching from Andrew Morris, including incredible plays from both Morris and Ryan Kreidler, the Twins walked them off with Royce Lewis’ reaching swing.
The Twins won 9-8 and led the series 1-0.
In Game 2, Mike Paredes faced Michael Lorenzen. Paredes went 5⅓ innings, giving up three runs. Two of which came off Goodman’s bat while the Twins were still relatively in it, down 3-1.
Goodman came up big again in the seventh when he had his third home run of the day, making it 6-2 Rockies.
In the top of the eighth, prospect Marco Raya got his first appearance out of the bullpen. After giving up a 2-run home run to Kyle Karros, he settled in with a debut line of two innings of work, two walks, and a strikeout.
Trevor Larnach came to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, and he cleared them with a double. Still, the Twins couldn’t provide any more run support, and the Twins lost 8-5.
The series was tied a game apiece.
Connor Prielipp pitched against Ryan Feltner in the rubber match.
TJ Rumfield helped the Rockies strike first in the top of the first with an RBI single. Then, with the game tied 1-1, Clemens ripped a home run in the fourth.
Prielipp’s day was done after he gave up two runs and recorded ten strikeouts in six innings. In the seventh, Ryan Kreidler hit the winning run on a homer off of Seth Halverson, leading to a 3-2 Twins win.
What we learned
While the series ended the way Twins fans wanted, there are a few things the team can take away from what turned into a series where the Rockies outscored them 17-18.
First, Minnesota’s bullpen is a disaster.
Game 1 highlighted that while game two accentuated it. This Twins team and bullpen are showing not to take any lead for granted, no matter how early in the game.
Next, Minnesota’s offense can be lethal if it keeps up the production. However, they need to continue offensive production if this pitching staff and defense remain league-worst.
Finally, Funderburk’s time with the team may be dwindling, while Andrew Morris continues to dominate.
Funderburk’s Game 2 performance, albeit less critical, was not as poor as in Game 1 in the grand scheme of things. Funderburk entered for Bradley in the eighth inning of Game 1 and started his downslide, finishing the series with two innings of work. While he was responsible for four runs, six crossed while he was pitching. Bradley was responsible for two of them.
Meanwhile, Morris went 2⅓ innings, with two strikeouts, giving up zero runs, and earned both wins in the series.
Since the 2023 change to a format in which each team plays all 29 other MLB teams, the ability to watch every team’s big-name players and breakout athletes has led to greater fandom across the league.
The Twins came out with the series win. However, if you’re a fan of both of these teams, each game brought excitement for different reasons. As a fan of both teams, this was a thrilling series, even if the Twins should have handled their business a lot easier. It was also nice to witness the power and spark Goodman, who had four HRs in the series, creates for a struggling Rockies team.
Colorado isn’t a good team, and the Twins made them look competent. Still, hopefully, the series can give Minnesota enough momentum to make a push towards the wild card spot before the All-Star break.
