Among the many issues the Minnesota Twins have had this season include an inability to consistently win close games.

Minnesota is actually the worst team besides the lowly Chicago White Sox in games decided by two or fewer runs with a 4-11 record.

Minnesota is 15-20 on the season yet has a +1 run differential due to its lack of wins in tight games. If the Twins won just three of those 11 losses in their games decided by two or fewer runs, their record would be 18-17.

Twins won the series against the Red Sox 2-1, improving their record in games decided by two or fewer runs to 4-11

The good news is that two of the Twins’ four wins in games decided by two or fewer runs occurred in Minnesota’s most recent series against the Boston Red Sox last weekend at Fenway Park.

After losing three in a row to Cleveland, the Twins dropped Game 1 of the three-game set against Boston 6-1.

Then in Game 2, Kody Clemens’ sixth-inning heroics carried the Twins to a 4-3 victory before Minnesota came back from down 3-1 late in Game 3 to win 5-4 and claim the series.

The main reason the Twins haven’t been able to win close games is a lack of offensive production. Only two of the losses in games decided by two or fewer runs saw the Twins score more than four.

It’s easy to blame Griffin Jax and Brock Stewart for their late-game implosions, but given the overall success of the bullpen, the main issue is the poor performance at the plate from the Twins’ bats this season.

And it’s not like the Twins’ offense dominated in their two wins against the Red Sox.

Still, the fact that both games included late-inning heroics from Minnesota’s lineup is a step in the right direction for a ballclub that needs to win a lot of games to prevent a trade deadline sale this summer.

Twins set to face Baltimore Orioles

The Twins are scheduled to begin a three-game series against the Baltimore Orioles at 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday at Target Field.

The probable starting pitchers for Game 1 are Twins righty Pablo López and Orioles lefty Cade Povich.