The Minnesota Twins are deep in the postseason hunt, trailing the Cleveland Guardians by two games in the AL Central and tied with the Kansas City Royals for the second AL Wild Card spot.
The Twins were up against the St. Louis Cardinals, who were starting Erick Fedde. Fedde, who was acquired by the Cardinals from the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline, has been a challenging opponent for the Twins. Baldelli expressed his exasperation about facing Fedde again, saying, “I’m tired of facing him, to be honest. I am genuinely tired of facing him.
Fedde had previously faced the Twins twice this season with the White Sox, pitching 11 innings, allowing just seven hits and one earned run, and striking out 16 while walking only two. Before joining the White Sox, Fedde had an impressive stint with the NC Dinos in the KBO, where he won the Choi Dong-won Award, equivalent to the Cy Young.
On Sunday afternoon, the Twins suffered a tough 3-2 loss to the Cardinals at Target Field. Despite leading 2-1 heading into the ninth inning, closer Jhoan Duran unexpectedly allowed two earned runs on three hits, resulting in the loss. This setback marked Duran’s second blown save of the season and dropped him to a 6-7 record.
The defeat was particularly disheartening as the Twins missed a chance to gain ground in the wild card standings.
Looking ahead, the Twins will try to bounce back on Monday night as they face the Atlanta Braves. The game, starting at 7:20 p.m. ET, will feature Max Fried (ATL) against Bailey Ober (MIN).
Additionally, the Twins are hoping to regain the services of Carlos Correa, who is currently on the injured list. The Braves have also been dealing with a series of injuries.
