Twins' Jonathan Schoop heating up heading into fall
After a cool start to the summer, Minnesota Twins second baseman Jonathan Schoop is red hot heading into the fall.
Schoop recovered from a serious June slump -- he hit just .226 with three home runs and five RBI in 21 games -- and has hit .290 with eight home runs and a .907 OPS since July 1.
He's batting .317 with five home runs in 13 games this month and has four home runs in his past four games heading into the first game of a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers on Friday.
Schoop home runs have been significant for the Twins this season. Minnesota is 15-1 (.938) when he goes yard this season. No other player with at least 20 home runs has a higher such winning percentage.
MLB, best team record when hitting a home run
| Jonathan Schoop | MIN | 15-1 (.938) |
| C.J. Cron | MIN | 19-2 (.905) |
| Gleyber Torres | NYY | 22-3 (.880) |
| Jose Altuve | HOU | 21-3 (.875) |
| Teoscar Hernandez | TOR | 14-2 (.875) |
When Schoop and Cron both homer the odds tip even further in the Twins' favor. They're 5-0 in such games after beating the Tigers 7-4 on Sunday.
Schoop is up to 21 homers on the season, giving the Twins seven players with 20-plus home runs -- which ties an MLB record -- and a few more closing in on the milestone.
Jorge Polanco sits at 19, while Marwin Gonzalez has 15.
Opportunities abound for more home runs in a matchup with Tigers veteran Edwin Jackson.
Jackson has allowed a combined four home runs in his last three outings, and 10 earned runs in his past 10 innings across two five-inning starts.
Kyle Gibson takes the mound for the Twins looking to rediscover his pre-August form. Gibson has just one quality start in five appearances this month, and allowed 10 hits and four earned runs during his last outing, also against the Tigers.
Other notes:
-- Schoop has 19 home runs from the seven, eight and nine spots in the order this season, which leads the majors.
-- Jackson has faced every team in the majors over the course of his 17-year career. He's just 1-5 (.167) all-time against the Twins with a 6.33 ERA, his highest against an American League team.
-- The rebuilding Tigers (39-92) have the worst record in the majors, but Victor Reyes has been a bright spot this month. He has 10 multi-hit games in August, second most by an AL player 24 or younger over that span.
Statistics via Sportradar
