Fastball

Minnesota Twins Do Something Not Done All Season in Brutal Sunday Loss

The Minnesota Twins failed to seize control of the second wild card spot in the American League on Sunday after losing in tough fashion to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Brady Farkas

Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Jhoan Duran (59) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the tenth inning at Globe Life Field on Aug 18.
Minnesota Twins relief pitcher Jhoan Duran (59) pitches against the Texas Rangers during the tenth inning at Globe Life Field on Aug 18. / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
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The Minnesota Twins lost to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon in brutal fashion, suffering a 3-2 defeat at Target Field.

Leading 2-1 entering the top of the ninth inning, closer Jhoan Duran uncharacteristically allowed two earned runs on three hits to lose the game. He's now 6-7 on the year and that's just his second blown save.

Furthermore, according to Declan Goff of SKOR North, that's the first loss the Twins have suffered this year when leading after eight innings.

That's the #MNTwins first loss (59-1) of the season when leading after 8 innings.

The loss was made even tougher considering the Twins were going to have a chance to pick up a game in the wild card standings. Had they won, they would have moved ahead of the Kansas City Royals for the No. 2 wild card spot, but instead the two teams will remain tied.

The Twins will look to get back into the win column on Monday night when they travel to Atlanta for a tough series with the Braves. First pitch in that game is set for 7:20 p.m. ET as Max Fried (ATL) pitches against Bailey Ober (MIN).

Ober is having an excellent season at 13-5 with a 3.54 ERA. Fried has battled injury to go 7-7 thus far with a 3.57 ERA.

The Twins are also looking to get healthier in the near future. They are waiting to get back Carlos Correa, who is on the injured list. The Braves have suffered a multitude of injuries in their own right.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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