Twins 5, Tigers 0: Minnesota Extends Winning Streak With Another Great Ryan Start

[Thiéres Rabelo]

Behind another fantastic start from rookie Joe Ryan, the Twins extended their winning streak to six, their longest since August 2020. They take the series win and get the chance to sweep another division rival.

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan, 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (90 pitches, 58 strikes, 64.4%)
Home Runs: Max Kepler, 2 (4), Ryan Jeffers (2)
Top 3 WPA: Joe Ryan (.322), Max Kepler (.223), Ryan Jeffers (.078)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Joe Ryan – and his cool turtleneck – picked up where he left off after his previous two outstanding starts. He pitched superbly right from the get-go, tossing four scoreless frames on 54 pitches. The first hit allowed by him came only in the fourth, but by that point, he had already induced nine swinging strikes. Also, in the fourth, he matched his season-high in strikeouts with seven. He did get some help from some excellent fielding, including a great stop from Carlos Correa, but his most important help came from the batter’s box.

Max Kepler kept the hottest streak he’s had in a while going. Facing former teammate Michael Pineda, Max provided Ryan with some run support by hitting two early, solo home runs in his first two plate appearances. He now has four homers in the season, something that in 2021 didn’t happen until May 16. His increased productivity could be one of Minnesota’s most significant uplifts for this season, should it carry on.

Ryan pitched a couple more 1-2-3 innings to reach six scoreless frames on only 76 pitches. That allowed him to become the first Twins starter this year to make it into the seventh. He did so and tossed yet another 1-2-3 innings, completing the brilliant seven-inning shutout. After giving up that Cabrera single in the fourth, he retired ten consecutive batters, almost effortlessly dominating the Tiger lineup.

According to MLB.com's Do-Hyoung Park, Joe Ryan now has 57 strikeouts through his first nine starts, a new club record. Bert Blyleven held that record until tonight, with 50 punchouts.

The offense came through with some more breathing room to make Ryan's evening even better with a four-hit fifth. Trevor Larnach opened the inning with a leadoff double and was followed by a rocket (110.9 mph exit velocity) from Ryan Jeffers, a two-run home run. In that same inning, two more batters reached against Pineda, but they were stranded.

The offense continued to hit the ball hard, producing another run for the Twins in the bottom of the seventh. Larnach hit yet another leadoff double, and he was pushed across in the very next at-bat by a Jeffers double. Both of those hits surpassed 107 mph exit velocity and gave Minnesota a 5-0 lead.

Joe Smith and Danny Coulombe had no trouble whatsoever shredding the uninspired Detroit offense, tossing a couple of clean innings on 30 pitches, making it a memorable, all-around performance by the Twins.

What's next?
Before heading to the east coast for a seven-game road trip, the Twins close out the series tomorrow with Bailey Ober (2.81 ERA) dueling against lefty Tarik Skubal (2.30 ERA). The first pitch is scheduled for 12:10 pm CDT.

Postgame Interview

 

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

	SAT	SUN	MON	TUE	WED	TOT
Winder	0	61	0	0	0	61
Thielbar	22	0	0	27	0	49
Coulombe	28	0	0	0	20	48
Pagán	0	0	0	23	0	23
Smith	0	13	0	0	10	23
Stashak	22	0	0	0	0	22
Duffey	0	0	0	19	0	19
Duran	0	18	0	0	0	18
Jax	0	0	0	10	0	10

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[LastOnePicked]

This is good. This is very good.

[MMMordabito]

Joe Ryan appears to be appointment viewing.  Detroit was the team that got to him last year, so it's good to see that he got them back. Good win!

[VivaBomboRivera!]

There is now little reason not to believe Derek Falvey's statement that this team will compete this season. Results so far support it, with room for improvement, of course.

This infield defense is going to keep us in many more games than 2019 and 2020, and should be better than 2022, as well.

Kepler's OPS up .240 in two games.  I'm Maxxxing out!

[terrydactyls]

I don't think Tampa Bay will ever try to make a trade with the Twins again.

[Aerodeliria]

I love Ryan. He looks like he's been pitching in the Bigs for six or seven years.

[Doctor Gast]

I expected a lopsided victory, I suggested that this would have been a good time to give a big name a rest, besides they weren't lighting up any way, 

Happy to see Kepler, Jeffers and Larnach doing well. And of coarse Joe Ryan had a great night. Go Twins!

[Squirrel]

40 minutes ago, Thiéres Rabelo said:

Facing former teammate Michael Pineda, Max provided Ryan with some run support by hitting two early, solo home runs in his first two plate appearances.

I wonder if Max was trying some imagery work and pretended that Pineda was Bauer to get those home runs

[GNess]

Joe Ryan carries himself and pitches beyond his years. Solid, solid effort.

[LastOnePicked]

2 minutes ago, GNess said:

Joe Ryan carries himself and pitches beyond his years.

I don't think I've ever seen a rookie respond to his weaknesses so quickly. His fastball was a potential liability, so he added pitches and keeps hitters off balance. The entire rotation at this point gives you confidence going into each game. When's the last time we could say that?

[MadHits]

Great stat on Ryan with the most strikeouts in Twins history through nine games. The rook is pitching like a seasoned vet.  I love how he works fast and in the zone, and by the way the D played behind him tonight I'd say they prob appreciate it too.  Max is so hot right now and is starting to get some oppo hits. I Shoulda called the Jeffer's bomb in the chat cause Pineda was feeding him meatballs. Great to see more guys stepping up at the plate, hopefully Correa and Polonco aren't far behind.

[mikelink45]

This is real pleasure for a fan. And I hope Ryan can keep it up I want to be careful about expectations. This is a really exciting set of games and puts hope back and all of us

[TwinsAce]

1 hour ago, terrydactyls said:

I don't think Tampa Bay will ever try to make a trade with the Twins again.

Maybe we can secretly trade with them via the Pirates? Give the Pirates some extra pop money for helping us out?

[wabene]

12 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

This is real pleasure for a fan. And I hope Ryan can keep it up I want to be careful about expectations. This is a really exciting set of games and puts hope back and all of us

Mr Link you are positively gushing!

[wabene]

Joe Cool is so smooth. Always balanced as he finishes his pitches. This looks sustainable and with that pace and command, damn fun to watch.

[mikelink45]

13 minutes ago, wabene said:

Mr Link you are positively gushing!

Hard not to at this time. Enjoy. We will have enough time for anguish. 

[Rik19753]

Great to see guys like Kepler, Jeffers and Larnach turning things around. Those guys are the biggest wildcards in the lineup, if they get things together this lineup is going to be great from 1 to 9. I don't think I've been this excited about Kepler since 2019.

Also, gotta love Ryan's face on Correa's terrific play. Nice to see the team having fun on the field.

[stringer bell]

Also nice to see back-to-back wins when Buxton doesn’t do anything special. With their good days, Larnach and Jeffers moved their OPS above .700. Polanco, Sanó and Correa need to get it going. 
 

If the starting staff can continue at anything resembling this rate, then the big area of concern has to be the bullpen. Two more late-inning arms are needed IMHO. 

[jimbo92107]

Seeing three Twins that were struggling at the plate finally light it up was just as fun as watching Joe Ryan pitch another gem. 

When different guys in the lineup start "taking turns" dominating games, that's a very, very good sign. Today Larnach, Jeffers and Kepler did some much-needed bashing. Hugs and high fives from the superstars. What a nice day!

[Rik19753]

6 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

If the starting staff can continue at anything resembling this rate, then the big area of concern has to be the bullpen. Two more late-inning arms are needed IMHO. 

Fortunately, relievers are the easiest position to fill at the trade deadline. They probably won't have to part with any of their top prospects to pick up a decent bullpen arm or two, which the front office is probably thrilled about.

[h2oface]

It's great to win these last two games, especially since our "stars", Buxton, Correa, and Polanco, are "0'fer Detroit" at the top of the line-up (0-22, 7 Ks, 2 BB). Getting the rest of the team going is key. Maxing out is a good thing. 

Joe Ryan is the ticket.

[Monticore]

Nice.

[bighat]

Amazing how the feel of a season can change when a few lucky bounces go your way. Those amazing finishes against the White Sox and Tigers seem to have taken some of the pressure off this team. Last year, the Twins were on the other side of tons of games like that. Right now this team seems to be having fun and there are lots of guys contributing. Polanco and Correa should start to heat up soon and then we'll really be clicking.

Can't say anything more about Joe Ryan that hasn't already been said. Berrios who?!?!

[Datwinsdude]

The team we put on the field last night is the best defensive unit the twins have fielded in a long, long  time.  Kiriloff moving in at first would be the only improvement I could see defensively.  I think we can stop wringing our hands about not having an ace starting pitcher.  Go Joe Cool!  

[jmlease1]

Joe Ryan is a delight to watch. The knock on him coming in was that he didn't have secondary offerings and that he was just a fastball guy whose funky delivery and work up in the zone had gotten him through the minors. But even last year, we saw that his changeup and curveball were better than advertised and could offset that fastball (which played up beyond its velocity). Now he's added that slider into the mix as a significant offering that he can throw for strikes and get swings and misses with and he's looking better than ever. His control is still very good, he's piling up Ks, and if he can keep the ball in the park he's going to have a great year. He was delightful to watch last night. Morneau was almost gleeful talking about him last night, how confident he looked, how consistent he was throwing...compared him to Brad Radke. (I would have no complaints of getting another machine like Radke) You know things are rolling when they're going to break and Morneau calls it out: "Boy, this is fun to watch!"

Kepler's breakout is great to see as well, and I hope it continues. He's gotten a fair amount of (deserved) heat around here: he's bounced a lot of balls into the shift over the last year or two and had a lot of weak contact. Last night he was locked in and made loud contact and sent the ball flying. Great to see. Showed his good eye at the plate while punishing his pitch, and that is a sustainable approach if he keeps putting the barrel on the ball.

Lovely game, with good defense, great pitching, and some good offense. And it's not like Detroit is a bad team any longer: the top half of their lineup has been playing very well (their bottom half has not), they've added pitching, and they shouldn't be looked at as a pushover. Last night they looked like trash against Joe Ryan. No complaints.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Joe Ryan... wow...

2 games over .500

If we can get Sano and the pen on track, watch out. 

[Whitey333]

Great game by Ryan..plus the Twins won it on its own without help from the opponent.  If Correa and Polanco ever get going watch out.

[umterp23]

When you look at tonight you have to appreciate the solid foundation of youth on this team and potentially for many years to come.  Blend that in with veterans and mix and match hot bats to help offset the cool bats and wins are possible.  I have always believed in pitching and defense is the key to 2/3rds of your win totals and offense mashing the ball to offset a bad pitching day get's you the remainders for your the year.  Fun, fast game to watch.  Ready baseball just like ready golf.  Keep the wheels rolling and finish the tigers off today.  

[wabene]

Is Popkins a bat whisperer? Both Jeffers and Kepler were swinging inside out and going opo. That is great to see. Kepler goes one short and one full season banging his bat against a wall before making adjustments? This new approach seems like a no brainer, but whatever better late than never.

Then you have Paddack saying he realized last off-season that he needed a third pitch. Huh? Hey big guy great idea! Whatever I'll take it. This FO and coaching staff took a whole lot of heat last year. Developing your talent is primary. 

[Blyleven2011]

IRyan looks like he is headed for the all star game ,,,, like watching him , fast pace and good results .....

Remember sports fan you heard it here first , Joe Ryan to the all star game