Minnesota Twins clinch historic MLB playoff berth

Although they lost to the AL Central champion Cleveland Indians, the Minnesota Twins locked up a historic berth in this year’s MLB playoffs.

While the Minnesota Twins dropped their 75th game of the season Wednesday in a 4-2 loss to the scorching hot Cleveland Indians, who sit atop the American League with the Central division title clinched for the second straight season, they still ended up clinching a historic playoff berth later Wednesday night.

A win over the Indians would have locked the Twins (83-75) into the 2017 MLB playoffs for the first time since 2010. However, as referenced above, they were unable to do that, as they lost 4-2. But the Los Angeles Angels (78-80), the team closest to the Twins in the American League Wild Card hunt, lost to the Chicago White Sox, which secured the Twins a playoff berth.

Because the Angels’ loss was the team’s 80th of the season, they can now only reach a maximum of 82 victories this season, while the Twins have already won 83 games, thus securing them the final spot in the American League Wild Card game.

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In clinching a berth in this year’s playoffs, the Twins became the first team in MLB history to lock up a spot in the playoffs following a season during which they lost 100 or more games. The Twins finished the 2016 season with an awful 59-103 record, which was the worst in the MLB by a full nine games.

The bad news for the Twins is that assuming the Boston Red Sox hang onto their lead in the American League East division, they will have to travel to the Bronx to take on the New York Yankees in the American League Wild Card game.

Why is this bad news? Because the last five seasons during which the Twins made the playoffs, they have lost in the American League Divisional Series, which was the first round before the Wild Card game was introduced back in the 2012 season. In four of those five seasons, the Twins’ first-round losses came at the hands of the Yankees.

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How far do you think the Minnesota Twins will go in this year’s MLB playoffs?