On the Road Again...

While the Minnesota Twins have excelled at home with a record of 21-12 through their recent series with the Cleveland Indians, they've been far from good away from the Metrodome. Away from the confines of the Teflon roof this season, the Twins have went a horrendous 6-16. 

At home this season, the Twins have hit .281 with 39 home runs and 173 RBI. On the road, the offense has hit .263 with 23 home runs and 88 RBI. The average is lower, but it isn't terrible, and the inflation in the home run and RBI numbers is due in part to the team playing 11 more games at home. 

What has really hurt the Twins is their clutch hitting. When the Twins were swept by the New York Yankees two weeks ago, they lost the four games by a total of five runs. In the series, the Twins went 4-for-38 with runners in scoring position. Just a hit in each game, and instead of being swept, the Twins could have have walked away with a sweep of their own.

Last weekend in Tampa Bay, the Twins won only one of the three games. The two losses came by a combined five runs as they lost by two and three runs. In the series, the Twins went 3-for-28 with runners in scoring position. Again, a hit or two with runners on, and the Twins could have won the series.

If the Twins can win more than 50 games at home as they've done nearly every time they've made the playoffs, and be near .500 on the road, as they've also often done when they've contended, they could be right around 90 wins when all is said and done—almost certainly enough to contend in the American League Central.

The Twins don't need to blow teams away on the road, but they must do better than their league-worst six wins if they want to be in the race come July. With 19 of the their next 25 games on the road, the Twins' test has just started.