The next 15 games could define the Twins' season

It’s a stretch of schedule that’s been highlighted for quite some time. The Twins’ next 15 games come exclusively against fellow contenders, all within the American League Central: six against the White Sox, six against the Tigers, three against the Guardians.

It’s quite obviously a critical stretch, but with Minnesota losing, 7-4, on Wednesday to cap a deeply disappointing 1-5 western road trip, it’s something else entirely. It’s make or break. The Twins need to find the form that saw them surge into playoff contention in July, or there won’t be much to play for in the season’s final two weeks.

The good news is, they’re used to it by now. This team has appeared on the verge of being left in the dust by other contenders on multiple occasions, and has surged back time and time again. They’ll have the right mindset, which isn’t enough, but is a good start.

“I think everybody is going to show up to the yard next game ready to go and not thinking, 'We just lost and have to make up all these games,'” Luke Keaschall told reporters in West Sacramento on Wednesday. “Now I think it's important to be like, 'We've got a ballgame today and you've got to win that game.' I don't think anybody is coming in here bummed out because we got swept and then lost a series. The vibes in the clubhouse before the game aren't bad.”

Here are four things that must happen for the Twins to claw back the standings ground they’ve lost and make sure they’re still in the picture after the next 15 games.

Best relievers pitch well

This wasn’t the case all year, but at the moment, the Twins have enough good relievers that they should have a good bullpen. The problem is that some of those good relievers are struggling.

Andrew Morris has seen his effectiveness dip as he comes down the stretch of his first Major League season and first season as a reliever. Jeff Hoffman was one of the AL’s best relievers for much of the year but has not replicated that form since he was acquired. Yoendrys Gomez has had a couple of hiccups lately. The arms are there. They need to perform.

Rediscover big hits

From Opening Day through the end of July, the Twins were one of baseball’s best teams when they had RBI opportunities, leading the Majors with an .806 OPS with runners in scoring position (.280/.363/.443 slash line). Since then, they’ve been downright ordinary in RISP situations, hitting .247 with a .716 OPS entering Wednesday.

The unfortunate truth is you can’t choose how you sequence your hits, so this isn’t something they can just turn back on. Clutch hitting isn’t a skill separate from being a good hitter. But if they’re going to get back to winning games, those hits are going to have to start falling again in key situations.

“We need to continue to add on,” Shelton said. “It seems like during this road trip, we did not have the ability to add on.”

Good news in center field

The Twins are Byron Buxton’s team, but Buxton’s performance at the plate hasn’t been anywhere near his usual standard since he returned from his first injured list stint as he battles a persistent right hip issue. He came out of Tuesday night’s game and his status for the weekend is unknown.

One of two things needs to happen: either they receive good news on Buxton’s health, and he finds his form – something he showed signs of with a three-hit game on Monday – or someone else steps up in center field. If Buxton has to go on the injured list, it could open the door for top prospect Walker Jenkins, who has been scorching hot at Triple-A. And if Jenkins comes up, they’ll need him to perform, much as fellow prospect Kaelen Culpepper has since he was called up earlier this month.

Starters step up

It’s unlikely Joe Ryan will be back within the next two weeks as he attempts to return from a glute strain. At a minimum he’s going to have one Minor League rehab start, but given that he pitched only one simulated inning in his live batting practice on Wednesday, it’s more likely that he’ll have at least two.

That means the rest of the rotation has to perform. Twins starters have a 5.10 ERA in August, which is the fifth-worst in baseball, following back-to-back games where the starter looked good, but ended with so-so results.