When you\u2019re on an aspirational path, reaching for the stars, or stepping outside of that comfort zone, common wisdom says you\u2019ve got to celebrate the small wins.<\/p>\n
Starting a business? Frame your first earned dollar. Writing a book? Take your early readers out for drinks when you finish a draft. Doing 75 hard? Buy yourself a new hoodie at the halfway mark.<\/p>\n
Trying to win a weak division? Beat the stuffing out of America\u2019s team on its 250th birthday.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know how many times the broadcasters said it over the course of the past weekend, but permit me one final indulgence before the white-knuckle intensity of three games with the Cleveland Guardians settles on Target Field this week:<\/p>\n
For the first time since 2014, the Minnesota Twins have won a regular season series at Yankee Stadium.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s take a quick victory lap.<\/p>\n
SMALL WINS ARE STILL A WIN<\/p>\n
We will address the\u00a0broader implications of these past three games later, but as a cross-section of the season, the Twins looked\u00a0great at Yankee Stadium.<\/p>\n
Even Friday night\u2019s 5-2 loss was a good road loss as Minnesota tagged the recalled-to-life Gerrit Cole<\/a> for two runs in his five short innings. New York put Mike Paredes<\/a>\u2019 mistakes into the right field bleachers, but Kody Clemens<\/a> kept his string of production going into Saturday, adding two more 1st-inning home runs.<\/p>\n Kody Clemens has homered in three straight games!<\/p>\n He’s got 5 HR in his last 8 games overall \ud83d\udcaa pic.twitter.com\/PyBRe0NWw2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MLB (@MLB) July 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The Twins scored 14 more runs in the following 17 innings, raising their AL-high run total to 448, 20 runs more than second-place Chicago White Sox. They\u2019re now tied for first in hits (762), fourth in home runs (117), and sit a mere game-and-a-half out of a Wild Card Spot.<\/p>\n Joe Ryan<\/a> rebounded gloriously with what may have been his best performance of the year on Sunday. He had 7 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 9 K, and his fastball was unbelievable<\/a>. Meanwhile, Minnesota checked off yet another item on their decades-long to-do list.<\/p>\n For fans in Twins Territory, these wins are a bit of a reason to celebrate. Since their first October meeting in 2003, the Yankees have won 16 of 18 playoff games against the Twins. Still to this date: They haven\u2019t lost a postseason game to Minnesota since Johan Santana<\/a>\u2019s scoreless seven innings on October 5, 2004.<\/p>\n These 13 consecutive playoff losses to New York form the core of Minnesota\u2019s now-deceased<\/a> playoff losing streak, a source of shame that made its way into the conversation any time a Twins team reached the playoffs. After the bubble burst against the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023, and after the recent playoff successes from the Timberwolves and Wild, the conversation has shifted away from Minnesota\u2019s first-round futility and back to where it belongs: the state\u2019s major-sports championship drought.<\/p>\n (Do we forget the dynastic Lynx and world-class Frost have combined for six league championships between them in the last 15 years?)<\/p>\n In his book Thomas Hauser on Sports: Remembering the Journey<\/a>, Hauser refers to Yankee Stadium as the most storied shrine in contemporary history, a monolith of the 20th century which echoes the imposition of classic temples, churches, and mosques.<\/p>\n The 2026 Twins, projected to miss their chance at the postseason with around 75 wins, went into this shrine on America\u2019s 250th birthday, tallied 22 runs, and ended a 12-year drought. What fun!<\/p>\n Okay. Victory lap over; time to get serious.<\/p>\n NOT MY GRANDFATHER\u2019S YANKEES<\/p>\n A more balanced view of this series suggests it actually isn\u2019t that big a deal. The three games with Cleveland ahead of the All-Star break will tell us far more about the Twins\u2019 current strengths, weaknesses, and playoff potential.<\/p>\n If you reject analogies from the 17th chapter<\/a> of the First Book of Samuel, the 42-45 Twins went into a second-place team\u2019s home grounds and took two of three in a somewhat lopsided fashion. It was fun; they hit a lot of home runs; it moved them closer to .500.<\/p>\n But beating the New York Yankees, regardless of October subtext, is no different from beating any other non-divisional team. By definition, they\u2019re the Seattle Mariners, the Texas Rangers, the Baltimore Orioles: every win matters, but winning in one\u2019s division matters far more.<\/p>\n The only thing going against the Twins in this series was the fact that it was the second half of a week-long road trip. Rotten odds<\/a> aside, everything favored Minnesota going into Friday:<\/p>\n A quick glimpse of the injury report ruled out competition from Aaron Judge<\/a>, Giancarlo Stanton<\/a>, Max Fried<\/a>, and Carlos Rod\u00f3n<\/a>. Minnesota\u2019s bats and Joe Ryan delivered, but as a litmus test only. The real test comes now that they\u2019ve built a lineup that can score lots of runs, and regularly beat struggling teams regardless of venue.<\/p>\n But can they win the division? I still say yes.<\/p>\n LET\u2019S TRY THIS AGAIN<\/p>\n July haunts. This time round, Twins management and ownership have the chance to make (partial) amends for their mistakes last year.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not too early to re-project the road to one of those sweet October Reign hoodies for Minnesota. It goes through one of two cities: Cleveland and south Chicago. In both cases, the July adjustments must focus on reinforcing the pitching.<\/p>\n The White Sox are in the conversation with the Twins for the best offense in the AL, trailing them in a few key categories (runs, OBP, slugging) and ahead of them in a few others (walks and home runs). The Guardians are nowhere close at the plate, hanging in the bottom 5 in nearly every category save doubles and walks.<\/p>\n We come to it again, as we have for the past three months: The Twins need definition<\/a> and help on the mound.<\/p>\n This is where the front office can show commitment, both to an attempt to earn October games and for a robust return (whenever that may be) in 2027. Byron Buxton<\/a> has made it clear he\u2019s not interested<\/a> in leaving. Another All-Star selection<\/a> cements Joe Ryan, at least in the eyes of the league, as a true ace.<\/p>\n The Twins need another starter, a high-leverage lefty, and a proper 8th-inning fireman or closer \u2014 almost exactly what the Twins traded away<\/a> last July.<\/p>\n How that can, and should, come together requires more research and an examination of Minnesota\u2019s remaining schedule. They\u2019ll have to beat the Guardians and the White Sox, certainly, but more: They\u2019ll need to pick up wins where those two rivals aren\u2019t. The Twins will need to collect more series wins like the two they\u2019ve just completed against the two teams most responsible for their frequent playoff exits.<\/p>\n A strong bullpen is out there; if they find it, Twins\u2019 management can win July in more ways than one. There\u2019s no reason they can\u2019t be that team<\/a>\u2013a 2007 Colorado Rockies, a 2011 Tampa Bay Rays, a 2023 Arizona Diamondbacks. Minnesota has the bats; they just need the arms.<\/p>\n So yes, celebrate this series in New York, rejoice in ending a fairly insignificant 12-year interval. But let it speak, too; let it frame a larger portrait of competition. Let it be an assurance that movement toward the true goal isn\u2019t as improbable as it seems.<\/p>\n \t\t\t
\nA study of the Yankees\u2019 rotation suggested that the Twins\u2019 bats would not have to solve AL Cy Young favorite<\/a> Cam Schlittler<\/a>.
\nFriday\u2019s (July 3) standings showed a Yankees team in a midsummer rut, losers of seven straight.
If the Twins were looking to finish up the road trip by plucking some low-hanging fruit, playing the Yankees might have been the sweetest option.<\/p>\n