CHICAGO � Paul Molitor has known this day would come for a while now. That doesn't make it any easier.
"I don't think you want to be connected to the worst season in Twins history," the manager of the record-breakers said. "It speaks to the futility in which we went about this season. Basically, (we lost) two out of three. That's a lot of shaking your head, looking for answers."
For the 103rd time this season, the Twins didn't have any answers Friday night, meekly absorbing a 7-3 loss at the hands of the White Sox, their 11th defeat in 13 games. Tyler Duffey gave up five runs while recording only six outs, Chicago rookie Tim Anderson tripled and homered and the Twins surpassed 1,400 strikeouts for the second time in franchise history.
And upon the final out, it became official: With 103 losses, the 2016 Twins are the least successful team that Minnesota has ever had in 56 seasons of major league ball, surpassing 1982's 60-102 mark.
"I'm not going to dwell on it. I'm going to try to turn the page, once I make sure I've had a chance to read that page very clearly and try to take what I can from the story that's been written, however unpleasant that story has been. And then I'm going to try to move ahead," Molitor said about the Twins' disastrous collapse, one year after posting a winning record. "But I don't feel good at all about being connected to it."
Nobody felt good against White Sox lefthander Carlos Rodon, who tied an American League record by striking out the first seven batters he faced. Rodon racked up 10 strikeouts and held the Twins to just one hit over his first five innings. He faded in the sixth, walking two and surrendering three runs, but by then his teammates had provided him a seven-run cushion.
Duffey missed his chance to become the Twins' only 10-game winner, but he was the victim of some unfortunate defense by the normally reliable Byron Buxton, too. The center fielder ran a long way to reach Anderson's first-inning fly ball to the parking track, but the ball glanced off his glove as he reached the wall, and Anderson reached third base on what was ruled a triple.
Melky Cabrera followed with a run-scoring double, and eventually scored himself on a wild pitch by Duffey. In the third inning, Anderson launched his ninth home run of the season, and back-to-back doubles by Cabrera and Jose Abreu ended his night, and his season. Duffey finished with a 9-12 record and 6.43 ERA, a disappointment following his strong month as a rookie in 2015.
"I know a lot of people are saying it's embarrassing, and rightly so. It is," Brian Dozier said of the Twins' record-breaking season. "But in the grand scheme of things, we missed the playoffs _ that's what hurt. It's embarrassing, it takes a toll on you to lose this many games. I wish it hadn't happened, but if we're not in the playoffs, the record doesn't matter."
