Twins Host Royals In A Rare, Meaningful June Series
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There will be a buzz in the air Monday night when the Minnesota Twins take the field to host the Kansas City Royals at Target Field. The same can be said for the rest of the series Tuesday and Wednesday night.
The Twins enter Monday night's game with the best record in the American League at 33-23. They lead the Royals, who are 31-23, by a full game in the divisional standings.
There are no magic numbers involved here and no playoff spots at stake, but Twins fans should take a moment here to recognize what a turnaround this Twins team has made after four awful seasons and a 1-6 start to this year. By percentage points, they still own the best record in the American League and they're facing a Royals team which nearly won the World Series last year.
Phil Hughes will try and increase that first place lead to two games with a win Monday night, and the vibes around the clubhouse are good these days as the team continues to win at Target Field.
You're not dreaming, this is really happening. The Twins are in first place and getting ready for a showdown with the Royals this week with the division lead on the line.
Yes, it's only June. But hey, it's June. How long has it been since the Twins played a meaningful game past April?
"You put yourself in a position to play meaningful games in June, but that's not nearly what it means to play August and September so you've got to keep your perspective," manager Paul Molitor said. "It'll be good to see them, compete against them."
The Twins will still have another 105 games to play after this one Monday night and two more against the Royals this week. So while we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves, but it's been a long time since the Twins have played meaningful baseball in June.
"We're not going to put extra pressure on ourselves. Just go out there and hopefully do some things that we're capable of," Molitor said.
As for the rest of this series, Trevor May is expected to get the start on the mound Tuesday night and Kyle Gibson will take the mound Wednesday night. It's a rare opportunity for the Twins to extend a lead in the division in June.