It ain't the pitching, it's the defense

I don't know exactly when the team fielding page for Baseball Reference gets updated, but as of 5:45 this morning the Twins

• were second in MLB in defensive fielding efficiency -- which is the percentage of balls in play turned into outs
• first in MLB in the Baseball Info Systems metric Runs Saved
• first in MLB in the Baseball Projections metric Total Zone Total Fielding Runs Saved Above Average

Meanwhile, over on the pitching page, the Twins are

• 28th in Fielding Independent Pitching
• 26th in Strikeout/Walk ratio
• 28th in Strikeout rate
• 19th in home runs allowed per nine innings

All of which suggests that when you hear that the Twins pitching has improved, you should mentally that statement to the Twins run prevention has improved. The credit belongs to the fielders.