For a pair of teams that meet only infrequently, the host New York Mets and Minnesota Twins have a lot in common going into Monday’s opener of their three-game series.
As playoff contenders — both enter in wild-card position — they are positioned to make roster additions before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
Left-hander Jose Quintana (5-6, 4.02 ERA) is slated to start for the Mets against Twins right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson (3-1, 3.27).
The Mets took their second straight loss to the Atlanta Braves and settled for a split of the four-game series. The Twins finished a series win over the host Detroit Tigers in style, as right-hander Bailey Ober allowed just one hit over eight innings in 5-0 victory in the rubber game of the set.
While the Mets missed a chance to move past the Braves into the top National League wild-card standings, they still hold the third and final wild-card spot by one-half game over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The consecutive losses to the Braves represented a rare recent hiccup for the Mets. New York was in 13th place in the NL on May 29 but leads the majors with a 33-17 record since.
“Obviously, splitting a series, not great — could’ve been better,” said Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, whose two-run homer in the eighth inning of the 9-2 loss on Sunday snapped New York’s 20-inning scoreless streak. “We’re definitely playing good baseball overall. That’s a really good sign.”
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns signaled he was ready to add to the team over the weekend when New York acquired reliever Ryne Stanek and outfielder Jesse Winker from the Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals, respectively. Stanek gave up two homers during a three-run seventh on Sunday afternoon, and Winker struck out as a pinch hitter in the eighth.
“Adding and winning, that’s going to be a great combination coming down the stretch here,” Alonso said.
Minnesota has not made a trade this month, but Sunday’s thorough win over the Tigers gave the Twins a two-game lead over the Kansas City Royals in the race for the second American League wild card.
Minnesota has also grown steadier following an eventful first four months.
The Twins won 12 straight games from April 22 to May 4, but they also endured losing streaks of four, five and seven games in the first 10 weeks.
Minnesota has been more consistent since June 9, a span in which its 25-15 record is tied with the Houston Astros for the best in the American League and ranking behind only the Mets (28-14) in the majors. The Twins lead the majors with 234 runs since June 9, two runs ahead of New York.
“The time is now,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It is a serious collection of players — not decent, OK players.”
Quintana is coming off a win on Tuesday, when he allowed one run over five innings as the Mets beat the host New York Yankees 3-2. He is 7-8 with a 4.05 ERA in 21 career starts against the Twins.
Woods Richardson was selected by the Mets in the second round of the 2018 draft, and he part of the trade to the Toronto Blue Jays for Marcus Stroman in 2019. Woods Richardson didn’t factor into the decision on Tuesday after tossing six scoreless innings in the Twins’ 3-0 loss to the visiting Philadelphia Phillies. He has never opposed New York.
–Field Level Media