Devastating doubleheader puts Twins on outside of playoff picture with 1 week to go

The Royals, Tigers, Twins and Mariners are fighting for the last two wild-card spots with six games to go.

Sep 22, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli (5) relives pitcher Cole Irvin (24) of pitching duties during the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Sunday could not have gone worse for the Minnesota Twins as they were swept by the Red Sox in a doubleheader at Fenway Park while the Detroit Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles to move into the final wild-card spot in the American League playoff race.

Entering play Monday, Detroit (82-74) holds a one-game lead over Minnesota (81-75) with with six games to play. The Twins are also one game behind the Kansas City Royals (82-74), who lost a seventh consecutive game Sunday to fall into a tie with Detroit. Seattle (80-76) is also in the mix, just a game behind the Twins and two behind the Tigers and Royals.

Here's how the week ahead looks for all four teams.

Day	Royals	Tigers	Twins	Mariners
Monday	Off	Off	Off	at Astros
Tuesday	at Nationals	vs. Rays	vs. Marlins	at Astros
Wednesday	at Nationals	vs. Rays	vs. Marlins	at Astros
Thursday	at Nationals	vs. Rays	vs. Marlins	Off
Friday	at Braves	vs. White Sox	vs. Orioles	vs. Athletics
Saturday	at Braves	vs. White Sox	vs. Orioles	vs. Athletics
Sunday	at Braves	vs. White Sox	vs. Orioles	vs. Athletics

After getting dumped 8-1 in Game 1 of the doubleheader in Boston, Minnesota grabbed a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning of the second game only to watch as the bullpen melted down in the fifth and sixth innings.

Cole Irvin served up a three-run homer to Romy Gonzalez in the sixth and then in the sixth the Twins needed Irvin, Cole Sands and Michael Tonkin to get out of the inning as the Red Sox batted around and scored six runs. The onslaught started with a fly out and then went double, hit batsman, single, bases-loaded hit by pitch, 3-run double, sac-fly, RBI single, RBI single, strikeout.

Irvin was charged with four earned runs and Sands allowed three runs and Boston cruised to a 9-3 win.

There is a chance that Baltimore could be resting its stars by the time they come to Target Field. The Orioles are six games behind the Yankees in the AL East and they're four games ahead of the Royals and Tigers for the top wild-card spot, so they might not have anything to play for by Friday.