Minnesota Twins at Seattle Mariners

When Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll declared his team a buyer on Tuesday, it was not necessarily aspirational, but it was at least somewhat optimistic. For one thing, you can call yourself a buyer, but somebody has to be willing to sell. There’s no guarantee deals are going to get done just because you want them to. For another, a week’s worth of games still remained before the Trade Deadline for a team that at the time was under .500. If the Twins stumbled, necessity might yet force a change of direction. In the three-plus days since Zoll talked the talk, however, the front office, ownership and players have all walked the walk. A hard-fought 5-3 win against the Mariners at T-Mobile park on Friday night was just the latest sign that the Twins are both acting and playing like contenders. Zebby Matthews and the perpetually under-construction bullpen teamed up to stifle the Mariners after the second inning, Minnesota clubbed three home runs and played solid defense and the visitors won for the seventh time in nine games. “Great team win,” Matthews said.