Minnesota Twins: Evaluating the 18 game postseason losing streak

With 18-straight playoff losses, let’s evaluate the Minnesota Twins’ recent postseason misery.

The Minnesota Twins made history on Tuesday, but not the kind of history that any ballclub wants to make. The Twins lost 4-1 to the Houston Astros in game one of the 2020 Wild Card Series, marking their 17th-straight postseason loss. The record? The most consecutive postseason losses in major American sports history.

The streak was extended to 18 losses on Wednesday as the Astros swept Minnesota two games to none and bounced from another postseason. But, let’s start at the beginning.

This streak dates back to October 5, 2004. This marked the Twins last postseason win. And it took a phenomenal starting pitching performance from the 2004 AL Cy Young, Johan Santana. Santana threw seven innings of shutout baseball against the New York Yankees, and the Twins took game one of the ALDS.

Unfortunately, then came the losing. And six-straight postseason appearances without a win.

The first place to look when evaluating the recent postseason struggles of the Twins begins with their opponents. During this streak, 13 of the 17 losses have come at the hands of the Yankees.

Since 2004, the Yankees have owned the Twins in postseason baseball. It started with three consecutive wins in 2004. By the 2019 ALDS, which the Yankees swept three games to none, this had become a mental block the Twins could not overcome.

In these postseason matchups with the Yankees, the Twins lost both facets of the game: offense and defense. Simply put, the Yankees bats were better and so were the pitching performances.

In 14 postseason games dating back to 2004, including the Twins last playoff victory, the Yankees outscored Minnesota, 84-41. This sample size includes the 2004 ALDS, the 2009 ALDS, the 2010 ALDS, the 2017 Wild Card Game, and the 2019 ALDS.

The Yankees clobbered twice as many home runs during that streak, 24-14. This equals six runs per game for New York and just 2.9 runs per game for Minnesota. The pitching scales tipped equally in New York’s favor. New York’s pitching staff threw a 2.71 ERA in that span, while the Twins pitched to a 4.78 ERA.

Of course, it’s necessary to discuss some of the intangible factors that played into the Yankees playoff dominance over the Minnesota Twins. Entering the 2019 postseason, after 10-straight postseason victories, there certainly was a mental block present for the Twins.

There’s certainly the star power factor of the Yankees. Throughout this streak, the Yankees rolled out pitchers like Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera, CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, and Aroldis Chapman. The bats? Those included everyone from Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, to the present stars like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

And the big moments. Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira hit a pair of memorable late home runs in game two of the 2009 ALDS. In the 2017 Wild Card winner-take-all, the Twins pounced on New York to a 3-0 first-inning lead. Then came Didi Gregorius in the bottom of the 1st, and the momentum was all Yankees.

Although most of the Twins playoff misery is thanks to New York, the Oakland Athletics and Astros have also played roles.

In the 2006 ALDS, the Athletics outscored Minnesota 16-7 in a three-game sweep. The most memorable moment in this series was Barry Zito’s game one pitching performance. Zito, a ferocious left-hander, threw eight innings of one-run baseball in the first game of this series. Oakland took game one 3-2, before cruising in games two and three.

In 2020, the Twins have drawn the Astros in the best-of-three Wild Card Series. Minnesota dropped game one in heartbreaking fashion. Tied at one, Houston scored three runs in the ninth inning following a two-out throwing error by the Twins’ Jorge Polanco to keep the inning alive.

Houston finished off the Twins with a 3-1 game two victory and sweep on Wednesday. Minnesota’s offense was completely shut down, scoring only one run in each game and hitting .119 in the series.

Next year, the Minnesota Twins will once again look to end this historic streak of postseason misery.