The Twins went 2 and 2 this week, dropping the opener to the Cleveland Guardians 2-5 on Thursday, then dropping game one of a three game set against the Los Angeles Angels 3-4 before winning the next two, 5-3 and 4-2. That Angels series counts as a series win, and it's got the Twins on a two game winning streak heading into the break. Zoom out further and it's actually been a nice little run, seven wins in the last ten.
None of that moved the Twins up in the American League Central though. They sit third, and actually slipped a game back, now three games behind instead of two. That's on the Chicago White Sox, who went 3 and 1 this week and now lead the division, and the Guardians, who swept their own four games to stay right there too. The wild card picture is a little brighter, Minnesota is now tied for that fourth spot instead of trailing by half a game. Overall record sits at 48 and 49.
Royce Lewis (1B) was the story of the week at the plate, hitting .357 over the four games with two home runs and 3 RBI, including homers on both July 9 and July 11. Trevor Larnach (LF) also went deep, driving in 2 on July 12. On the mound, Taj Bradley picked up the win July 12 with 7 innings, 2 earned runs and 6 strikeouts, and Joe Ryan threw 6 solid innings the day before with 6 strikeouts of his own.
Now everything pauses. The last game was Sunday's win over the Angels, and the league takes off for the All-Star Game on July 14 before the Twins are back at it. They resume Friday, July 17 at 5:05 PM PDT, on the road against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field for a three game series.