The Twins have a comfortable, but not a commanding lead in the American League Central. It shrunk from six and eight games to five and seven, respectively, over the Guardians and Tigers when Minnesota let a game get away in the sixth inning Tuesday in Milwaukee while their two nearest competitors won.

In explaining a key decision that led to Milwaukee’s five-run sixth inning, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said Bailey Ober’s overall workload this season was a factor.

Though he only conceded that Ober’s inning total this season between Class AAA and the majors was “maybe a little bit” of the reason the 6-9 righty didn’t come out for the sixth inning, even that much of an admission is troubling to me, as I talked about on Wednesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.

While it’s true that Ober is at 136⅓ innings this season — after never topping more than 107 in any pro or college season — these things are also true:

*That’s not an absurd number of innings. Even if we imagine Ober should make roughly six more starts this season, that would put him at 165 to 170 for the year.

*Ober was pitching well. He had settled down after a shaky first inning to retire the final eight batters he faced. He had allowed just two hits and was sitting at 78 pitches. Ober himself fully expected to go out and pitch the sixth inning based on those facts.

*But most importantly, the Twins need to win now. They aren’t at a point where every game is make-or-break, but they are at a point where not maximizing chances to win can make things more uncomfortable than they need to be in the future.

I’m old enough to remember the Twins completely falling apart in a season. Frankly, anyone over the age of 1 has lived through it because it happened in 2022.

The Twins don’t have enough reliable relief pitchers to expect four clean innings — 12 outs — in a high-leverage situation with a one-run lead. And that was underscored when the one reliever they did add before the trade deadline, Dylan Floro, came in and gave up five runs in the sixth.

Let Ober have another inning. Give yourself a better chance to win a game in August. Maintain or build a bigger lead now, and be mindful of innings pitched (if you must) when you’ve actually created an insurmountable division lead in September.

Don’t do it now. The Twins haven’t won anything yet, and they need to remember that.

Here are four more things to know today:

*There’s not a universal guideline for how fans should behave at sporting events, but there are a few things that most of us would agree cross a line. One of the big ones: Cheering for an opposing player’s injury. That line was apparently crossed at Tuesday’s Lynx win over Dallas, turning a tense game into a regrettable one.

*Was preparation a problem for the U.S. in the Women’s World Cup?

*The Gustavus women’s hockey story is endlessly sad, but Patrick Reusse handles it well.

*Podcasts later this week will feature Minnesota United manager Adrian Heath and Ben Feldman from the Minnesota Wind Chill professional ultimate disc franchise. The American Ultimate Disc League semifinals (Friday) and title game (Saturday) are at TCO Stadium in Eagan.