Are the Twins Catching the Mets At the Right Time?

The Minnesota Twins finished their latest home stand 2-4, and are coming off a disappointing sweep by the Cincinnati Reds, where they lost two out of three games in the 9th inning.

Now they’re off to Flushing, N.Y., to face the New York Mets for a 3-game series, and the Twins may be catching them at the right time. The Mets own MLB’s longest losing streak this season, with 11 games, having not won since April 7 against the Diamondbacks.

An 11-game losing skid makes Minnesota's current losing streak of four games seem inconsequential in the standings for the long run, but one team or both will see their losing streaks end in this series.

Over their 11-game losing streak, the Mets' offense has put up a .200/.239/.289 slash line. They’ve only hit seven home runs, walked 4.7% of the time, and struck out at a 22.7% rate. Their pitching has not fared much better, putting up a 5.70 ERA, 4.52 FIP, 1.42 WHIP, .259 opponents' average, 21.3% walk rate, and 9.2% walk rate.

The Twins are calling up two top pitching prospects ahead of the series. Kendry Rojas will take Kody Funderburk’s place in the bullpen while he’s on paternity leave, and the Twins will call Connor Prielipp up to replace Mick Abel in the starting rotation, who they placed on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation. Per sources, Abel is only expected to miss two to three starts in the rotation, which is encouraging news.

Rojas will be used exclusively out of the bullpen for his call-up because he’s still building back up from a hamstring injury in spring training. The Twins have officially moved up Simeon Woods Richardson a day to start in Abel’s place, which will leave Wednesday as the day for Prielipp to make his MLB debut against the Mets. He threw five full innings in his last outing in St. Paul on Thursday.

With the Mets' offense in a rut during their losing streak, it also proves to be great timing for Rojas and Prielipp to make their MLB debuts against them. None of New York's hitters has seen either in the minors, which will give them the upper hand in using their best stuff against them.

In addition to facing a slumping Mets squad, the Twins are finally catching a break on the starting pitching front. The Mets are not sending out their left-handed starter, David Peterson, in this series. It’ll be the first series of the season where the Twins are facing only right-handed starting pitchers: Nolan McLean on Tuesday, Clay Holmes on Wednesday, and Kodi Segna for the series finale.

That means Kody Clemens and Trevor Larnach will likely be in the lineup almost every night to provide breaks for Josh Bell and Luke Keaschall, who have played in every game this season.

The Twins lineup has managed to hold its own against the 12 left-handed starters they’ve faced in their first 22 games, putting up a .230/.343/.364 slash line with nine home runs and 52 RBI. With limited appearances against righties, their batting average and on-base percentage don’t look as good in the slash line, sitting at .230/.322/.395 through those 10 games. However, the power is still there with 17 home runs and 56 RBI tagged in that span.

Facing righties only out of the Mets' rotation will be good for Clemens and Larnach, who have each had their playing time limited after going through the gauntlet of left-handed starters to begin 2026. Larnach has only had 47 plate appearances, but has drawn 13 walks in that span. Clemens has only had 45. His appearances have been more sporadic than Larnach’s, which has resulted in a .154/.267/.308 slash line and has surprised many by leading the team with four stolen bases, along with Keaschall.

The Twins will also get Royce Lewis’s bat back in the lineup after he missed the minimum 10 days with a sprained left knee. He went 2-for-7 with two home runs and three RBI in his short rehab assignment in St. Paul. The Twins have yet to make a corresponding move for his return. That transaction, along with the Funderburk paternity leave, is unlikely to be made official on Monday's off day.

On paper, things look up for the Twins to take advantage of the Mets while they’re down. However, the Mets could also be looking at their four-game losing streak as an opportunity to end their own. With how both teams have been playing lately, it’s unlikely one or the other walks away with a sweep.

This series will only be entertaining because it’s a chance for the Twins and Mets to get back on track after hitting an early-season skid.