Twins turn season outlook around with 10-game winning streak

Carlos Correa stood, one arm crossed, the other with his hand on his chin. Next to him, Kyle Farmer crouched and gave a thumbs up. Christian Vázquez, on his knees, leaned back, giving a peace sign. Carlos Santana stood in front, pointing at the sky. And on either side of the group, Jose Miranda and Steven Okert stood, cheesing it up.

A day earlier, the Twins infielders unveiled their new celebration, posing in the middle of the grass as if they were going to take a portrait. Earlier that day, the infielders had been in the weight room, scheming up new ways to mark victories because, well, when you’re winning that much, finding creative ways to celebrate becomes a topic of conversation.

Things are good in the Twins’ world these days.

After 20 games, their record was 7-13. After 30, they’re now 17-13, thanks to a 10-game winning streak that has helped turn their season around. The winning streak is the eighth longest in team history and the lengthiest since 2008.

“Winning baseball is a lot more fun than losing baseball,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “Coming into the locker room and having good vibes in here after wins is great. We’re not sitting here counting every win we get. Every day is a new day.”

And all of those days, of late, have ended the same way: with another notch in the win column.

Seven of the Twins’ victories came against the White Sox, the team with Major League Baseball’s worst record, with another three against the Los Angeles Angels, who are also near the bottom.

The Twins knew that stretch would be a good opportunity for them — things get harder this weekend when the Boston Red Sox come to town starting on Friday night at Target Field — to dig themselves out the hole they had played themselves into.

And they sure accomplished that.

It’s been a collective effort, marked both by blowouts and close victories. Many lately have been of the comeback variety.

Much of it has come as the offense has finally broken out. Through their first 20 games, they scored a combined 67 runs (3.35 per game). Over the course of the winning streak, that number has ballooned to 7.6 per game (76 over 10 games).

“I feel like everyone is playing a little freer,” Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober said. “You can just tell there’s not a whole lot of pressure being put on ourselves. If one of the guys doesn’t get the job done, we’re confident in the next guy to be able to pick us up. I feel like the biggest thing is leaning on each other and trusting our teammates.”

While there’s more time to plan celebrations, dance in the clubhouse or worship a piece of summer sausage, Jeffers said things haven’t changed as much around the clubhouse as it may seem.

“When you’re struggling, you’re putting in the work the same that you are now. Nothing has changed from a work ethic standpoint. Nothing has changed from a game plan standpoint,” he said. “We’re just playing better baseball. The awesome benefit of having such a long season is you can go through those ups and downs and come out the other end and have a stretch like this.”

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Twins were still preaching that it was early — and it was, though it felt as if it was getting late quick.

Now, their season is looks entirely different.

“It’s amazing how the emotional swings work in our game. But right now, I think there’s a lot of guys in that clubhouse feeling good about themselves, and they should,” manager Rocco Baldelli said.

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