The Twins announcer seemed completely fed up when he heard the failed bunt for a loss in extra inning

Perhaps no play better represents the Minnesota Twins’ recent collapse than catcher Ryan Jeffers’ attempt in the bottom of the 12th inning at Target Field on Thursday night.

With the game tied 5-5 and the winning run on second base, Jeffers attempted a bunt but instead struck out Miami Marlins first baseman Jonah Bride. Even worse, Bride caught Twins veteran Carlos Santana too far from second base and doubled him for the second time after the inning.

Play-by-play announcer Cory Provus had seen enough on the Bally Sports North broadcast.

“Double play,” he said. “Come on guys, this can’t be happening. This can’t happen!”

The Twins lost 8-6 to the Marlins in 13 innings. They left the winning run on base in the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth innings and were 2-for-19 as a team with runners in scoring position, continuing the unfortunate trend of losing baseball in Minneapolis.

Provus’ call perfectly reflected the frustration of the Twins’ fan base over the last six weeks.

On August 17, the Twins defeated the Texas Rangers 5-2 to improve to 70-53 on the season. At that point, according to Fangraphs, Minnesota had a 92.4% chance of making the playoffs and was just two games behind the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the AL Central.

Minnesota lost 24 of its next 36 games and is now officially out of the playoffs.

Heading into Friday’s slate of games, the Twins are three games behind the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals for the final two American League wild-card spots. To make the playoffs, the Twins must defeat the Baltimore Orioles this weekend, while the Atlanta Braves must defeat the Royals and the Tigers must win against the weak Chicago White Sox.

After this colossal collapse, Fangraphs now gives the Twins a 3% chance of making the playoffs before the final weekend of the 2024 regular season. And that might even be a bit generous.