Twins winning streak reaches 12 games thanks to depth and vibes

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Twins aren’t quite in unprecedented territory yet with this winning streak -- but they’re in pretty darn good company now.

It’s been 33 years since the Twins last had a 12-game winning streak -- and, coincidentally, it’s also been 33 years since the team last won a World Series.

Following a methodical 3-1 win over the Red Sox at Target Field on Saturday, this run of success is officially tied for the second-longest streak in club history -- and, at this point, the only Twins team to have won more consecutive games is that legendary 1991 squad, which won a team record 15 consecutive games in June to spark their surge to glory.

“Any chance you have in any season to win 12 in a row, that's pretty special,” Carlos Correa said. “It's rare. You've just got to have fun and find things that unite the team. It makes us feel like more of a family than just teammates.”

That ‘91 team started 23-25 and were in fifth place in the AL West before riding that 15-game streak all the way to the top of the standings -- and they never again relinquished first place. These 2024 Twins haven’t quite gotten that far, as they’re still only in third place amid a surprisingly strong AL Central field, but, well, their streak is still going.

What’s been different amid this stretch?

Hitting offspeed pitches
On April 21, the Twins were 7-13, and there was no secret as to why. The Twins were hitting a collective .195 at that point, having scored 67 runs in 20 games, an average of 3.35 runs per game. They’d been held to four or fewer runs in 17 of those games.

It seemed the book was out on them: Just throw them non-fastballs.

Before this streak, the Twins were seeing more offspeed and breaking pitches than anyone else in baseball (49.7%) and had the third-worst wOBA -- an all-encompassing offensive statistic -- on those pitches. Only the Oakland A’s were whiffing more often on those than the Twins, who were swinging through 39.6% of those pitches.

“Sometimes, just putting the ball in play and just trying to put as good of a swing as you can on the ball may be the most productive thing you can do,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.

Indeed.

Since the start of the streak, the Twins lead baseball in wOBA on non-fastballs. If anything, they’re seeing even more of them (52.9%) but have cut their whiff rate all the way down to 29.7%.

They’ve scored five or more runs in all but two games amid this streak.

The depth shines
On Saturday, it was again pitching that fueled the Twins, as ace Pablo López overcame a bumpy first inning to set the tone with six innings of one-run ball, striking out eight.

But reliever Steven Okert also made a key escape in the seventh with a bases-loaded strikeout of Rafael Devers to preserve the narrow Minnesota lead -- and, later, even with a healthy Jhoan Duran, it was Cole Sands who got the call for the save in the ninth.

The bullpen has been a point of strength all season -- it entered Saturday with the fifth-best ERA and second-best strikeout rate among MLB relief corps -- despite Duran having been sidelined with injury until earlier this week and Justin Topa still on the mend.

Amid this streak, Duran, Caleb Thielbar, Griffin Jax and Sands have all contributed saves -- which will pay dividends down the line in pressure situations.

“Confidence in everyone,” Okert said. “Coaching staff having confidence in all of us is great. Put us all in different positions, and putting us in positions to succeed.”

It’s not just on the pitching staff. How about Willi Castro, who knocked two more hits and used aggressive baserunning to force the Twins’ insurance run in the sixth by advancing two bases on wild pitches? The do-it-all utility man has a career-best 10-game hitting streak and is the foremost example of the Twins doing the little things right in this span.

The vibes
All that means the vibes have been immaculate, as they say.

There’s almost unanimous agreement that the team was pressing amid its brutal start -- but now, the pressure’s off. They’re indulging in the summer sausage weirdness. The Polaroid team celebration victory photo is taking hold and evolving before our eyes.

“Winning leads to the vibes,” Correa said. “It's a complete lie that you can fake the vibes and don't go out and perform and win games.”