Twins catch up with Royals, lose to Tigers after rainout

The Twins have a half-game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the battle for the last wild-card spot in the American League and are half a game behind the Kansas City Royals in the battle for the second wild-card spot in the AL after their game against the Boston Red Sox scheduled for Saturday at Fenway Park in Boston was canceled due to rain.

The Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 on Saturday to move a half-game closer to the Twins in the standings, while the Royals lost 9-0 to the San Francisco Giants to put the Twins a half-game ahead. The Twins have both teams in tiebreaker mode, which could be decisive.

Either way, Sunday's doubleheader will prove crucial for the Twins. The Twins have just eight games left in the regular season, including Sunday's two.

Minnesota needs to at least tie the Royals and Tigers to secure a postseason spot, which should be doable, although it hasn't been an easy stretch for the Twins lately, losing five of seven games in their two most recent series against the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians.

The Twins snapped their losing streak with a 12-inning win over the Red Sox on Friday, scoring three runs in the 12th inning to win 4-2. They'll need to carry that momentum into Sunday as the Twins look to keep their playoff spot alive in the final days of the season.