Although the Twins did not welcome Carlos Correa back until the 18th game in which they had Correa, Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis in the same lineup this year, Saturday ended with outfielder Kyle Farmer on the mound.

Correa and Buxton, returning from the injured list for two consecutive days, were taken off the roster before the fifth inning to preserve their bodies. Even they couldn’t save the Twins in an 11-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Target Field. Farmer was the only Twins pitcher not to allow a run.

Simeon Woods Richardson and Louie Varland combined to allow seven hits and two walks during a disastrous nine-run fourth inning. Blowup innings have been a common problem for the Twins over the past month, and they have lost eight of their last 11 games.

The Twins hold a 2½-game lead over Detroit for the final wild-card spot, a Tigers team that was a poster child at the trade deadline. They slipped 3½ games behind Kansas City for the second wild card and are 6½ games behind Cleveland in the American League Central.

“We played close,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “We see what close looks like. We don’t have to play close anymore. That’s what happens when you let it affect you a little bit, I think.”

Saturday was essentially a rehab game for Correa and Buxton. They were done after two at-bats, having given up two of the three hits right-hander Nick Martinez allowed in six innings. Buxton scored a run when he hit an infield single in the first inning, and Correa hit a double in the fourth.

When Farmer was asked what advice he gives his teammates, he said, “Don’t play to give it up. Play to get it. Right now we’re playing to give it up, as opposed to what we were doing this time last year in Cleveland and we got it from them. It was just a different mindset.”

Varland, a pitcher the Twins must immediately transform from a starter into a highly effective reliever, has an 8.67 ERA in 42 major league innings this season. Pitching with the score tied and two runners on base in the fourth inning, he allowed three consecutive hits, including a ground-rule, two-run double to Noelvi Marte and a two-run single to Jonathan India.