Eduardo Escobar, Twins relievers biggest reasons for recent success
There have been many reasons for the Minnesota Twins' success this season. As the team prepares to host the Detroit Tigers, two of them stand out recently.
First, Eduardo Escobar has taken hold of the shortstop job. No, make that he's owning it. In fact, over the last two months, there has been no better offensive shortstop in all of baseball. His OPS of .944 since Aug. 1 is the best of any player at the position during that span (min. 125 plate appearances)
Escobar is batting .311 in 38 games since Aug. 1, with six home runs, a .370 on-base percentage and .574 slugging percentage.
Meanwhile, Minnesota's relievers have buckled down in the past week.
LOWEST BULLPEN ERA LAST 7 DAYS
| Team | ERA |
| Giants | .066 |
| Twins | 1.10 |
| Mariners | 1.44 |
| Rangers | 2.00 |
| Diamondbacks | 2.25 |
Minnesota has turned things around against the Tigers as well of late.
TWINS VS. TIGERS IN 2015
| Category | First 10 games | Last 3 games |
| W-L | 2-8 | 3-0 |
| Runs/g | 2.50 | 8.00 |
| Batting avg. | .230 | .343 |
| RISP avg. | .225 | .440 |
| OPS | .581 | .961 |
Other notes:
-- Brian Dozier has the most RBI for a second baseman in the majors with 70. Detroit's Ian Kinsler is second with 68.
-- The Tigers have the third-fewest quality starts among American League teams with 62.
Statistics courtesy STATS Inc.
