Baldelli admits Twins are 'next level' streaky this season

Lose 13 of 20, win 17 of 20, lose seven straight...

Apr 26, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli (5) walks back to the dugout during the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports | Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports

Consistency is good in sports, but only when players are performing consistently to their abilities. When it goes sideways and stays sideways, consistency is a nightmare. Welcome to Minnesota, where the 2024 Twins were consistently bad to start the season and then consistently good before morphing into a consistent loser of late.

“I’ve seen a lot of streaky baseball -- we all have,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said after a 12-3 loss to the Nationals on Monday. “This is next level stuff. We’re taking this to the next level. Sometimes that could be a good thing and right now, it’s not a very good thing.”

Minnesota won two of three games in Kansas City to start the season and then dropped 12 of the next 17 games. It was ugly and the bats weren't hitting. That consistently awful first 20 games transitioned to 20 dominant games, where the Twins won 17 times including 11 in a row as their offense blossomed into the best in baseball for a three-week stretch.

Then the Yankees visited Target Field and the wheels fell off. Minnesota was held to one run in the three-game sweep and then they went to Cleveland and got swept by the first-place Guardians. Monday's blowout loss to the Nationals was the seventh straight defeat for the Twins.

As was the case when the Twins were woeful through 20 games to begin the season, the hitting has been putrid. Minnesota slashed .284/.342/.489 when they won 17 of 20 games, but the current losing streak has seen that team's batting line plummet to .177/.228/.265.

That's the league's worst batting average, worst on-base percentage and worst slugging percentage over the past seven days. It hasn't been pretty, but if we know anything about the 2024 Twins it's when they are good, they're really good. It's just a matter finding their rhythm again...