Hopefully-healthier Twins ramp up for second-half chase of AL Central title

The Major League Baseball season resumed Friday, from Seattle to Miami, Toronto to Los Angeles. Everywhere except in the Upper Midwest.

The Twins and Milwaukee Brewers, limited this year by MLB’s “interleague rivalry” scheduling format to two-game series, sat out an extra fifth day of the All-Star break Friday. They will begin play Saturday night at Target Field.

A day too late, as far as Rocco Baldelli is concerned.

“Five [days] is pretty long,” the Twins manager said last week. “Every single person in Major League Baseball would probably rather not use one of their off days on the Friday after the All-Star break. This is two out of three years [actually three out of four] that we’ve had this.”

But not everyone might agree with him. The Twins, after all, suffered a series of injuries during their final road trip before the break, and while none are expected to be major issues, a little extra rest probably will help them recover more quickly.

“The trips we take, those long trips, the back gets a little tight,” said Willi Castro, the lone Twins player who played during the break — albeit for only one All-Star at-bat in Arlington, Texas. “That’s normal for an athlete. We’re all playing with some issues with our body. These are great off days. We’re going to come back and be ready to go.”

That would certainly help. Jose Miranda went on the 10-day injured list because of lower back tightness, and the Twins are hopeful he can return over the weekend. Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton didn’t start last Saturday or Sunday at San Francisco — Correa because of plantar fasciitis in his right heel, Buxton because of a sore right elbow — but both are expected to return Saturday. Infielders Royce Lewis (adductor), Kyle Farmer (shoulder), Austin Martin (oblique) and pitcher Brock Stewart (shoulder) are all eligible to return from the injured list — Stewart struck out two in a scoreless inning on his rehab assignment with Class AAA St. Paul at Toledo on Friday — and all figure to be ready before the season reaches August.

Kyle Farmer (shoulder), Austin Martin (oblique) and pitcher Brock Stewart (shoulder) are all eligible to return from the injured list — Stewart struck out two in a scoreless inning on his rehab assignment with Class AAA St. Paul at Toledo on Friday

Correa’s condition is the most troubling, given how a similar injury in his other foot greatly reduced his productivity in 2023. The All-Star shortstop said he won’t make the same mistake of playing through pain.

“Last year, one thing I learned is that people don’t care if you go out there and play hurt. They’re always going to talk about your performance, and that only,” Correa said. “I’m going to make sure that when I’m on the field, I’m not just somebody that’s just standing there. I don’t want to be just a body on the field. I want to be able to perform to the best of my abilities, like I’ve done in the first half.”

Health will be important, of course, given the challenge ahead of the Twins over the final 10 weeks of the season: catching the Guardians for their second consecutive AL Central championship, which brings with it home-field advantage, or even a first-round bye, in the playoffs. The Twins, who trailed Cleveland by nine games on June 25, cut that deficit in half by the break. They went 11-6 over the past three weeks, while the Guardians stumbled into the break with a 7-11 mark.

And perhaps trailing by 4½ games as the season resumes is an advantage for the Twins. In the 25 full 162-game seasons in which the AL Central has been made up of its current five-team membership, the Twins have won the division eight times — six of them despite not being in first place at the All-Star break. That’s more come-from-behind titles than the Guardians, Royals, Tigers and White Sox combined.

The Guardians led the Twins at the break last year, too, albeit only by a half-game. They finished the season 11 games back of the Twins and in third place. This year, they have won all five meetings against the Twins, outscoring them 26-11. Eight games remain between the division rivals: four at Target Field, including a Friday doubleheader to make up an April rainout, from Aug. 9-11, and four more at Progressive Field on Sept. 16-19.

Guardians players understand the importance of those games, and the renewed strength of the AL Central.

“We knew it was going to be a tough division. You see the stuff before the season, predictions, and everybody didn’t really respect the division,” said David Fry, Cleveland’s All-Star utility man. “Now everybody is like, holy cow — we’re playing well, the Royals, obviously the Twins, even Detroit has been really tough this year. I think it’s going to be one of the toughest divisions. I’m sure we’ll have a couple of teams make the playoffs.”

• Chris Williams went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBI and the Saints returned from their All-Star break with an 8-6 victory at Toledo, ending a six-game losing streak.

Staff writer Bobby Nightengale contributed to this report.