When the Twins got their first look at the 2021 schedule last summer, Rocco Baldelli said, "We were wondering if there was a misprint, or if there was something that could be done about it. We were told no, it was not a misprint, and no, there was nothing we could do about it. So we play."
They play the Tigers, over and over and over. MLB teams play their division rivals 19 times per season, but rarely is that frequency emphasized like it is these next two weekends: The Twins will play eight consecutive games against the Tigers, four at Target Field, and four in Detroit.
The All-Star break will bisect this stretch, and it's a game longer than originally scheduled because a May 9 game at Comerica Park was rained out and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader next Friday. But the two lineups will know each other's pitching staffs, and especially their bullpens, unusually well by the time it's over.
So who has the advantage: hitters or pitchers?
"I'm not sure. Relievers, they face you so many times, they understand what you're hitting and what you're not," said Trevor Larnach, who opened the season at Class AAA, which has gone to a six-game series schedule this season. In his season-opening week, as the series went on, "I was getting more and more off-speed pitches, so they made an adjustment. And it was up to me to adjust in response. It's the nature of it."
Would a relief pitcher, knowing he would likely face the same hitters three times in a short stretch, use one pitch more prominently in one outing, and a different pitch in the next?
"No, there are no secrets. They know what I've got, I know what they hit," Hansel Robles said. "It's about using what's most effective that night, not worrying about what they're looking for."
And there aren't really any managerial strategies to change, either. "We're not going to try to hide anyone, not throw them. We have no choice but to run our guys out there and let them outperform and beat the Tigers," Baldelli said. "We're going to see their guys, they're going to see us. Someone's going to have to go out there and play well."
Donaldson back
Josh Donaldson jogged backward before batting practice Thursday, then sideways down the baseline to demonstrate his pain-free footwork. He fielded some grounders, ran the bases, and shared a fist bump with the team's athletic trainers.
Healed once more, Donaldson was ready to play.
"Just making sure everything feels good again," the third baseman said.
But not everything does. His hamstring is fine again, Donaldson said, but the Twins' sorry season is taking a toll.
"It's been tough. Honestly, it's tough," the 10-year veteran said. "I haven't been part of too many seasons like this."
Donaldson tried to pump up his teammates before their series in Chicago last week, calling a clubhouse meeting to challenge them to turn their season around. The Twins promptly went 1-5 on their road trip.
Playoff contention may be out of the question, he said, but that doesn't mean the season is lost. "We have a lot of guys that still need to learn, not just [for] themselves, but as a team. Learn how to go out there and be better ballplayers. … You learn something from every season."
Donaldson said he hasn't given much thought to a Twins' sell-off, and has no idea whether he might be traded, or to where.
"That's all front office," he said. "No matter what our record is, I'm going to come out and compete and expect to win."
• Randy Dobnak, sidelined nearly three weeks now by a sore middle finger on his pitching hand, tried to throw this week "but was still feeling some ill effects in that finger," Baldelli said. "He will not be ramping it up in the very near future."
