MLB recently announced that teams will play against each and every one of the 29 remaining teams, and divisional games would be reduced.
Those changes will apply for next season, however.
The Minnesota Twins would have loved to see less of the Cleveland Guardians in 2022, though.
“The #MNTwins and #Guardians played 19 games this season. Both teams scored exactly 89 runs. Minnesota went 6-13,” Ted (@tlschwerz) wrote via Twitter.
The #MNTwins and #Guardians played 19 games this season.
Both teams scored exactly 89 runs.
Minnesota went 6-13
— Ted (@tlschwerz) September 19, 2022
Run differential is often more accurate than the win-loss record if the sample is small, like in this case.
With both teams scoring 89 runs in their matchups against each other, it’s safe to say that the good fortunes were on Cleveland’s side.
The Twins, after their series with the Guardians, probably no longer have a realistic chance at making the postseason.
They are 73-74, seven games behind the Guards with less than two weeks remaining on the regular season calendar.
Minnesota Would Need A Miracle To Advance At This Point
Since they also have the Chicago White Sox ahead of them, it would take a miracle for Minnesota to make the playoffs at this point.
Had the series against the Guardians finished at least 9-10 or 8-11, their chances would probably look better, but that wasn’t the case.
Besides their good luck, Cleveland did the little things to earn that 13-6 record against the Twins, and no one will take that away from them.
The Guardians are now 80-67, four games ahead of the second-place White Sox in the AL Central and about to return to the postseason.
Minnesota, on the other hand, will probably need to start thinking about 2023 at this point.
They are in a good position to spend and compete.
2022, however, just hasn’t been their year, especially as of late.
NEXT: Twins Writer Shares A Reason For Hope In 2023