The Royals Series Will Have Higher Stakes Than A Typical Memorial Day Matchup

Coming into this homestand, the Minnesota Twins had a poor start to their season series against the Cleveland Guardians. Mother Nature prevented them from playing all three games for a series win. Still, they at least tied, taking two days to win the first game on a Kody Clemens walk-off and losing Wednesday’s originally scheduled game 5-1.

A tied two-game series isn’t ideal, but after losing three out of four against the Guardians at Progressive Field to end April, the Twins will take this result over the alternative mini-sweep. Next, they face the Kansas City Royals, the other divisional opponent the Twins have dropped three out of four against on the road.

Fortunately, Mother Nature appears to be cooperating for this three-game weekend series against the Royals. But this series has some early-season weight because it’ll be a while until the Twins play any of their other divisional opponents after this weekend.

After the split series with the Guardians, the Twins are tied with the Royals for second place in the division. Kansas City arrives in Minneapolis having taken two of three from the San Francisco Giants on the road. Minnesota’s unlikely to sweep the Royals. Still, winning the series is of the utmost importance for the Twins so they can at least sit 3-5 in the season series and be a game up in the division standings.

Following this series against the Royals, Minnesota won’t get many more opportunities against the AL Central. The Twins only match up once against another division rival in June or July when they play the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park from June 27-29.

However, five of their first seven series will be against their divisional foes come August, right when scoreboard watching for postseason spots and division titles will pick up across the league.

But after this weekend, it won’t be the same story for the other AL Central teams. The Guardians and Tigers begin a four-game series Thursday in Detroit, but the Tigers will still have four series in the division over the next two months. Meanwhile, the Guardians have two, and the Chicago White Sox and Royals will all have three series apiece.

The upside of having fewer divisional series over the next two months is that the Twins can count on the other teams to beat up on each other. They’ll want the rival White Sox to play spoiler. Baseball Reference gives Chicago a <0.1% chance of making the postseason, but the new pope’s favorite team can do something unholy.

The White Sox are winless against the Tigers, Guardians, and Royals this season. Their only divisional wins are the two they’ve had against the Twins. However, that will likely change because they are no longer the worst team in baseball. The more matchups they have within the division, the more things will balance themselves out.

However, it’s hard to say the Twins or their fans should be rooting one way or another regarding the other three teams. The Tigers own first place in the AL Central by a five-and-a-half game lead. Kansas City is tied with the Twins, and the Guardians only sit a half game back of them after their latest win.

The Twins, Royals, and Guardians make up the AL’s three Wild Card spots. That likely won’t hold all season, putting Minnesota in a precarious position. At 19-11, the Twins have the second-best record outside the division behind Detroit, which is 25-14 outside the Central.

There will be plenty of games in the next two months for the Twins to widen the gap between them and the Royals (19-16 against non-divisional opponents) and the Guardians (15-17). Still, this series has similar implications to Minnesota’s matchup with Detroit in a month.

As things stand in the AL Central, each matchup within the division will have meaningful stakes from August 1 through the last week of the season, including those against the White Sox. The other Central teams' records against the Twins could be the difference between making the postseason and missing out.

Minnesota will enjoy the off-day on Thursday, but the Royals series will have higher stakes than a typical Memorial Day weekend series. Fortunately, the Twins will have Pablo López, Zebby Matthews, and a well-rested Bailey Ober on the mound for the next three games. They hope they can outpitch the Royals, one of only three teams with a starting rotation ERA under 3.00 this season.