Twins still hopeful for turnaround despite rocky start to 2nd half

DENVER -- The Twins opened the unofficial second half of the season looking to build consistency after a decidedly inconsistent performance prior to the All-Star break.

Injuries and underperformance in the starting rotation and the lineup had them sitting at 47-49 as they began a three-game series against the Rockies at Coors Field on Friday night. But despite facing the club with the Majors’ worst record, Minnesota fell behind immediately and came up short in a late comeback bid, losing to Colorado, 6-4.

The story was similar to what transpired in much of the first half: Byron Buxton was brilliant and Willi Castro was productive, but outside of home runs from those two and a career-high-tying four-hit night from Ryan Jeffers, the rest of the Twins’ lineup went 2-for-21.

On the mound, starter Chris Paddack surrendered four runs on five hits in the first inning to put Minnesota in a big hole early.

“It did make the game pretty difficult at that point,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “ … But we still had our ability and opportunities to win the game. We really did.”

They did. But they went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, failing to cash in despite putting a pair of runners aboard in the first, third and sixth innings at the most hitter-friendly park in the Majors.

In the sixth, Carlos Correa opened with a walk and Ty France singled. But Harrison Bader, Royce Lewis and Brooks Lee each struck out against Colorado starter Kyle Freeland.

The second half of the season can offer a fresh start for clubs looking to reset and start playing their best baseball when it counts the most. But at least for the first game after the All-Star break, the Twins looked a lot like they did in the first half.

Buxton went 3-for-5 with a pair of singles and his 22nd home run of the season. It was his 12th homer in the last 30 games, a span over which he owns a .354/.416/.741 slash line and hit for the cycle last Saturday against the Pirates.

Castro was 1-for-5, but his one hit was a big one, a three-run shot over the center-field wall in the seventh. It was Castro’s 10th homer of the season and his OPS is creeping up near .800 (.796) as he continues to provide offense in the absence of the customary production from Correa (.694), Lewis (.572) and others.

But it was too little, too late.

“Obviously when you strike out three times [in the sixth], we weren’t probably seeing the ball real deep and trying to make Freeland, late in the outing, make good pitches,” Baldelli said.

“It looks like we might have gotten a little big, and that happens sometimes, but we’ve got to do a better job when we have those spots, and we had those spots.”

The results were familiar, but that’s not to say the quality of contact was as poor as the outcomes. There were some hard-hit balls that didn’t find grass in the cavernous Coors outfield, including a liner off the bat of Ty France in the first that had an expected batting average of .870.

It landed in the glove of a leaping Ryan McMahon, who snared it to strand two runners.

Then there was Castro’s 99.3 mph liner to center that was right at Mickey Moniak in the third. In all, the Twins put 18 balls in play with an exit velocity of 95 mph or greater, 10 of which resulted in outs.

“We were hitting the ball right at people,” Castro said. “You can’t control that. You’ve just got to get good [at-bats], but there are nine guys on the field trying to get you out.”

With the July 31 Trade Deadline approaching, the Twins don’t currently seem to be in position to make a firm commitment as to what they’ll do. Much will depend on how the club performs over the next couple of weeks.

They may have some reinforcements on the way -- right-hander Bailey Ober (left hip impingement) and No. 3 prospect Luke Keaschall (fractured right forearm) each made their first Minor League rehab appearances with Triple-A St. Paul on Friday. And the hope is that Pablo López (right teres major strain) will return relatively soon.

As the sand in the hourglass runs out, Castro is hopeful.

“I know the past month and a half we haven’t been doing so good,” Castro said. “But baseball is crazy. … We have the team to get up there and win it all.”