WASHINGTON – Eight days ago, the Minnesota Twins were the hottest team in baseball and winners of 17 of 20 games.
After Monday night’s 12-3 loss to the Washington Nationals, the same club was mired in a seven-game slump so miserable it prompted a players-only meeting.
“It’s easy to be a fun guy when things are going well and when everything you’re hitting is falling and you’re just winning games,” said Twins shortstop and two-time All-Star Carlos Correa. “But when the hard times come, that’s when you know who the people are. And it’s useful to talk.”
Correa hit a two-run home run, the bright spot in another sluggish outing for an offense that has been largely to blame, scoring just 12 runs during Minnesota’s free fall to a .500 game.
Against Nats starter Mitchell Parker, manager Rocco Baldelli said the Twins (24-23) simply weren’t responding.
“The guy just stood up and threw off-speed pitches for four innings, and we didn’t do anything about it,” Baldelli said. “We continue to wave them off and look for fastballs. That they wouldn’t come today. Especially in the first five, six innings. And in this period of games where we have struggled, that has been a common theme.”
Baldelli said he has already held two or three postgame conversations during a year that also included a five-game slide show, and is hesitant to conduct more because “it starts to get stuffy.” He approved the players’ decision.
“I don’t know what was said. I have no idea,” Baldelli said. “I think it was the right thing to do at the right time. And I hope we get something out of this.”
In his sixth season at the helm, he is a little surprised by how quickly things have changed. Again.
“You start to forget some of the things you experienced when you turn the tables. I mean, we’ve completely changed the season several times,” Baldelli said. “I’ve seen a lot of streaky baseball games, we all have. This is next level stuff.”
Pablo López, the starter defeated on Monday, expressed disappointment at not being able to be the starter, but hopes the match will make a difference.
“Externalizing gives a feeling of relief,” said López. “When you say things out loud, when you hear things said out loud, it puts things into perspective. So I think we said things that maybe we were thinking but weren’t saying out loud.”
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