The Twins totaled five runs in 16 innings over their first two postseason games, were outhit in both games, produced only two extra-base hits and still rolled to a sweep over the Toronto Blue Jays in the wild-card round.
For a team that had one of the best offenses following the All-Star break — the Twins averaged 5.61 runs across their last 71 games — the lack of an offensive explosion could be a sign of untapped potential. Most players, though, say it's just the reality of postseason baseball.
"There is probably still a little bit left on the table, but at the same time we're facing every team's best arms," reliever Griffin Jax said. "Six-plus runs is probably not going to happen most nights in a playoff game. As long as we get two, I feel pretty comfortable we're going to win that game."
The Twins have scored more than three runs in three of their last 17 playoff games. It won't become any easier this weekend. The Houston Astros announced Justin Verlander will start Game 1 of the American League Division Series, first pitch scheduled for 3:37 p.m. Saturday at Minute Maid Park, and lefthander Framber Valdez will take the mound in Sunday's Game 2.
Verlander owns a 22-10 record with a 2.76 ERA in 40 career starts against the Twins. When he faced them last year, he permitted one hit in 14 scoreless innings. Valdez is 3-1 with a 2.37 ERA in seven career outings (four starts).
"We're a confident team regardless of who we are playing," said designated hitter Royce Lewis, who homered twice in Game 1's 3-1 victory over Toronto. "We look at our opponent in terms of getting the right information, knowing who is running the bases and all that. At the same time, it's the same game. You cannot be afraid."
Dominant pitching gives the Twins a lot of confidence, but their offense has become more productive when they aren't piling up hits. They had at least one batter reach base in every inning during Wednesday's Game 2, a 2-0 win vs. the Blue Jays. Jorge Polanco was the only starting position player who didn't reach base in Game 1.
In the two games, the Twins drew 11 walks, which was the most by any team playing in the wild-card round.
"I can't think of two games that are more emblematic of the pressure, the challenges, the take advantage of the right opportunity at the right time type of baseball that exists in October," said Derek Falvey, the Twins' president of baseball operations, "than those two games."
It's a contrast from the first half of the season when the Twins lost many low-scoring games, spoiling some of their best pitching performances. Sonny Gray, who might finish second or third in the AL Cy Young voting, went three months without earning a winning decision.
"We went through some tough stretches during the middle of the year," catcher Ryan Jeffers said. "The pitchers were there day in and day out. They gave us great outings, and it easily could've broken the team apart, in some way, with the offense being as bad as we were for a little while. The chemistry we have, the characters we have in that locker room, help when it comes down to not getting divisive and pulling together."
The three other teams that swept in the wild-card series scored 11 runs each. The Twins relied on Lewis' electricity in Game 1, driving in all three runs with a pair of homers, and a ground-ball RBI single from Carlos Correa was their biggest hit in Game 2.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider noted after the Game 2 loss that only one of the Twins' seven hits came through the air. The rest were singles that rolled through the infield.
"Any given night, our offense can go out there and give us 10," pitcher Bailey Ober said. "Obviously, they gave us what we needed the last two [games] and our pitching staff held it down. It's just the team we are. We pick each other up."
The Twins posted a 4-2 record in their six games vs. the Astros in the regular season. They scored more than three runs in three of the games. The Twins won each of them.
