Minnesota Twins Season Ends with Postseason Losing Streak at 18

Playing against a team that entered the playoffs with a below .500 record was supposed to be a gift. Spoiler, it wasn't.

Minnesota, who entered the playoffs as the American League's third seed, dropped two-straight games to the Houston Astros (AL 6th seed) at Target Field to close out the 2020 season. The Astros defeated the Twins 3-1 on Wednesday (September 30) to advance to the ALDS.

Playing at home against a sub .500 team in the playoffs couldn't help the Twins get over the postseason losing streak. The streak now sits at 18 games and dates back to October 5, 2004, when the Twins defeated the Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

It has been the Yankees a majority of the time that has knocked the Twins out of the postseason. Since the streak has started, New York took out Minnesota in 2004, 2009, 2010, 2017, and 2019. Slide-in Oakland defeating Minnesota in three straight games in 2006 and this year's results against Houston and the pattern continues.

All of us in the upper midwest had that feeling that as long as the Twins avoided the Yankees right away that there was a good chance the team could advance into the playoffs. I guess we were all insane for thinking so.

Seriously, the last time the Twins won a playoff game I was a freshman in high school. At this point, I have a feeling they won't win another playoff game until my daughter is a freshman in high school (and that's a long time from now).

Pitching wasn't the problem for the Twins this time around, but the team scoring a total of two runs between the two games was surprising for a lineup that boasts some of the biggest hitters in the game. Add in the mental mistakes, and it made for a frustrating way to spend seven hours over two days watching baseball.

If you want the stats, click here.

But I'll just spare you the numbers. It was bad and it was inexcusable.

It was all just the same as prior years.

Although there's frustration today, and probably for the next few months, we'll all sit back and wait for April when the new season begins...

So we can all start the ride again and hope that the Twins have another chance to stop this record next year.