About four hours before the Twins took the field to face the Miami Marlins on Thursday night, the Detroit Tigers completed a comeback victory over the Tampa Bay Rays and the Kansas City Royals wrapped up a win in Washington D.C. in which they scored three ninth-inning runs.

The Twins put themselves in a position, because of their play, that their slim playoff hopes rest on getting help from other teams. They haven’t been getting that help. That’s in part because the two teams they’re chasing for a wild card spot — the Tigers and Royals — have taken big leaps from last year.

As the season enters its final weekend, the division is the only one in Major League Baseball with four teams above .500. Two of three wild card spots are going to come from the division, which has provided much more intrigue than in recent seasons.

“It’s been a wild year. It’s been incredibly competitive from the start,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You run out there and you look at the schedule, you go to play these  teams, you have to be ready to go. … You have an MVP candidate on one team in (Royals shortstop) Bobby Witt. You have exceptional pitching around the division. If your offense comes in and doesn’t have a real good day, there’s a lot of starters and a lot of these bullpen arms that can shut you down.”

The AL Central was one of the worst in baseball history last year. This year, it’s one of the best. Aside from the White Sox, who are historically bad, the other four teams have either clinched their ticket to the postseason (Cleveland) or are in the hunt.

The Royals, who finished 56-106 last year, in particular have made a large jump. The Guardians have, as well, finishing 10 games under .500 a season ago. The Tigers, who finished 2023 in second place, have made an incredible late push — they are 30-11 in their last 41 games — to put themselves in the playoff picture, as well.

“Some groups, including our own, there’s been a lot of change over the last year or two and it’s challenging to go out there and win a game or win a series right now in the division,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think it’s good for everyone. I think it pushes you. I think it tests you throughout the year.”

Roster move

The Twins recalled catcher Jair Camargo on Thursday as Christian Vázquez stepped away from the team for the day to deal with a personal matter. Camargo will take Simeon Woods Richardson’s spot on the roster, as the rookie pitcher was optioned to Triple-A following his last start of the season.

While his last start certainly did not go as he would have hoped — seven of 10 batters reached base against Woods Richardson in his Wednesday start — the righty capably stepped into a rotation role in April when the Twins needed him and held it throughout the season.

“I’m extremely happy with myself,” Woods Richardson said on Wednesday. “It’s a true testament to all the hard work we put in. … Doing my job and trying to give the team (the) best chance to win, that’s what I was trying to do all year.”

Briefly

Chris Paddack (forearm strain) threw one live inning in St. Paul on Thursday and came out of it feeling good. It’s possible that he returns before the end of the regular season on Sunday. … Pablo López will make his final start of the regular season on Friday when the Baltimore Orioles come to town. López has an outside shot of reaching 200 strikeouts for the second season in a row, needing 10 on Friday to reach the milestone. … Jose Miranda was scratched from the lineup with lower back tightness. Miranda previously went on the injured list with a low back strain in July.