Fastball

Minnesota Twins' Biggest Flaw Comes Back to Haunt Them in ALDS Loss

The Minnesota Twins, who led baseball in offensive strikeouts this year, made baseball history as they were eliminated from the ALDS by the Houston Astros.
Brady Farkas|
Minnesota Twins' Biggest Flaw Comes Back to Haunt Them in ALDS Loss
Minnesota Twins' Biggest Flaw Comes Back to Haunt Them in ALDS Loss

In this story:

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins were eliminated by the Houston Astros on Wednesday night in Game 4 of the American League Division Series.

The Twins lost the series three-games-to-one as the Astros punched their ticket to the ALCS for the seventh straight year.

In the end, the Twins couldn't muster enough offense against Houston, scoring four, one and two runs in the three losses.

Also, the Twins' biggest bugaboo all season, the strikeout, came back to haunt them as well.

Minnesota led all of baseball in punchouts with 1,654 in the regular season and continued that trend in these playoffs.

Per @OptaSTATS on social media:

The Twins are the first team in MLB history to play at least 6 games in a single postseason and strike out 10+ times in every one.

The Twins fanned 14 times in the elimination game and only registered three hits. Four Twins registered multi-strikeout games.

Minnesota was home run dependent this season, leading the American League with 233 big flies, and though they mustered two solo shots on Wednesday, they couldn't generate enough traffic to really make the home run hurt Houston.

Given that the American League Central is in major rebuild mode, the Twins should have a healthy chance to repeat as division champions next year.

That said, they'll have to find a way to make more contact and could look to prioritize guys that fit that mold in the offseason.

They also have to handle some of their own free agents, namely pitcher Sonny Gray, who is headed to the open market.

Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by LIKING us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.You can also subscribe to "The Payoff Pitch" podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Published
Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

Home/History