Brian Murphy: Twins inspire some postseason confidence against Phillies

You can’t win the World Series in July, but you can inspire postseason confidence by vanquishing opponents expected to play deep into October.

Jul 24, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins infielder Brooks Lee (72) throws over Philadelphia Phillies infielder Alec Bohm (28) after forcing him out by during the seventh inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports / Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

Nothing is truly free, not even when the old man pulls his dwindling levers to secure four comped club seats at Target Field for Monday night’s series opener between the resilient Twins and swashbuckling Phillies.

You don’t impress your 13-year-old son and two of his similarly caffeinated teammates with freebies for the White Sox or Marlins. Especially the superfan in a Bryce Harper jersey who lifted his smartphone just in time to record the slugger’s first-inning bomb into the plaza. 

Try herding feral teenagers through a packed concourse during a 90-minute rain delay. They bounced off the walls shoveling every sugary and salty treat they could down their gullets while I broke up wrestling matches and scoured for a charging station so I could continue emptying my digital wallet and negotiate a midnight curfew with their paroled parents.

These knuckleheads had no idea how much house money they were playing with.

For me, free tickets from the old man meant a bleacher seat at old Tiger Stadium and a sawbuck for a warm Coke and hot dog boiling in the bilge of a steam trunk salvaged from the Titanic. 

I can still taste the Salmonella and the nostalgia for those bygone days of summer innocence, when playing and watching baseball with your buddies meant everything before girls, grades and jobs brought the real world to life.

There still are ways as an adult to cheat The Man and reclaim a forgotten slice of carefree youth. Like bookending Monday’s 7-2 Twins victory as a civilian with Wednesday’s 5-4 walk-off win on the clock.

There is nothing sweeter than taking in a noon ballgame on a postcard-perfect weekday, basking under blue skies and smiling wryly at the Minneapolis skyscrapers housing all those suckers billing hours and cross-functioning their way through another level-setting Zoom call.

These last three days with baseball’s best team in town was a learning experience, too. Maybe the Twins can sit with the adults without being shamed back to the kiddie table after all.

Minnesota took two of three from Philadelphia and conceded nothing despite their depleted lineup and fragile health. 

You can’t win the World Series in July, but you can inspire postseason confidence by vanquishing opponents expected to play deep into October.

It’s no secret the Twins have struggled against superior teams this season. They are a paltry 4-20 in that department and have lost all 14 games against American League stalwarts Baltimore, Cleveland and the Yankees, their perennial tormentors.

Eight games remain against the Guardians, so the AL Central remains in play despite Cleveland’s five-game cushion. Still, it was important for Minnesota to serve notice that it won’t be mere saps against a deep and talented team like the Phillies, whose bullpen coughed up a 4-1 seventh-inning lead in the rubber match.

Max Kepler’s broken-bat infield single scored Trevor Larnach, who led off the ninth with a hit-by-pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt.

Donning the hero’s cape for the 11th time in his career, Kepler tied Harmon Killebrew and Kirby Puckett for most game-winning hits in team history. Not bad company to keep.

“I was just trying to put the ball in play and it just worked out in our favor,” Kepler said. “I feel like I say the same thing every time. We try to play small ball here and big things happen.”

The biggest thing plaguing the Twins has been injuries. 

All season they have been playing Whac-A-Mole with the IL, where franchise player Royce Lewis owns prime real estate and veteran superstar Carlos Correa is renting more space.

Third baseman Jose Miranda and shortstop Kyle Farmer are also scouting property there while starting pitcher Chris Paddack remains in escrow with more arm trouble.

When Phillies reliever Matt Strahm drilled Byron Buxton on the right arm with a pitch in the seventh inning, manager Rocco Baldelli raced out of the dugout with the trainer to check on his porcelain center fielder like a panicked parent helicoptering in after their toddler fell off the monkey bars.

Buxton survived the inning but left the game with a forearm contusion. X-rays were negative and Baldelli was optimistic about his status, wiping the collective brow of Minnesota fans conditioned for the worst about Buxton.

The injury news is getting better, however.

Lewis and Miranda are expected to wrap up their rehab assignments and join the Twins this weekend in Detroit. Meanwhile, right-hander Brock Stewart was activated from the 60-day IL and threw an inning of relief Wednesday.

After the Brewers swept two games from them last weekend at Target Field, the Twins responded with two signature victories over the Phillies that fueled feel-good vibes that only summer days at the ballpark can fulfill.

“That’s a pretty great series,” Baldelli said. “When it comes to playing against a team like this, they have great pitching, an excellent lineup and they play with a lot of emotion. They’re on a roll right now.

“It’s just good baseball. If you enjoy watching good baseball, this series was a good example of what you’re looking for.”

Everyone here is looking for a return engagement in late October.