Phillies 3, Twins 1: Christian Vazquez Homer Breaks of Aaron Nola Perfect Game, No-Hitter, and Shutout; Twins Lose

[Matt Braun]

Image courtesy of © Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Joe Ryan: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
Home Runs: Christian Vázquez (3)
Bottom 3 WPA: Trevor Larnach (-0.248), Byron Buxton (-0.134), Brooks Lee (-0.088)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

I think I will miss this team. There’s a comfort in baseball, in the everyday slog that follows a team through the season. The ups and downs—they mimic the grind of life we all must persevere through. That’s probably why winters are so tough: we’re forced to struggle alone. Well, I guess we have football, but a once-a-week respite can’t ever touch the connection we develop with baseball and its players.

Joe Ryan took the mound for the final time in 2025. Though he faltered a bit following the trade deadline, the righty may have created his magnum opus season, totaling 185 strikeouts over a career-high 166 innings, with a career-low 3.47 ERA entering Friday. For a team desperate in their search for consistency, the 29-year-old was a breath of fresh air.

His mound opponent was Aaron Nola, the longtime Phillie stuck in an unusual quagmire. Competence is in his DNA. His season ERA sits over 6. These contradictions shouldn’t exist. 

Philadelphia struck immediately with a first inning run. Kyle Schwarber scored an infield single off Brooks Lee, whose admirable attempt at a great play resulted in an off-target throw, Edouard Julien’s foot to lose touch with the bag, and a dismayed Lee to walk sullenly back to his position. Then Bryce Harper shot a single to left center. Then Alec Bohm summoned Schwarber home with a sacrifice fly to right. 

A malaise fell upon the ballpark (yes, Jimmy Carter is not the only person who can find a use for that word.) The two pitchers settled into a groove. Though, not a tremendously smooth one. Perhaps more akin to Take the Money and Run; in that its scattershot rhythm and sudden emphasis revealed a loose control of the situation. Yet, control commanded. Or command controlled. Either way, three innings passed without either team scoring a run.

Edmundo Sosa broke the stalemate with a solo shot in the fifth, though Christian Vázquez quickly hit a homer of his own to return the game state to its original deficit.  

The slim disadvantage lasted three batters, as Joe Ryan’s exit from the game gave way to Travis Adams, whom the Phillies jumped on to plate a sixth-inning run, pushing the shortfall back to two.

As the innings melted away, and the endgame became clear, a singular thought conjured in every Twins fan: Jhoan Duran will enter this game. The Twins will be buried in part thanks to their own incompetence. And so it happened: the ninth came, and Duran took the mound for Philadelphia. It wasn’t clean—he allowed two hits—but he earned the save, giving Minnesota their 91st loss of the season. 

 Notes:

Post-Game Interview:

What’s Next?
The Twins and Phillies play the season’s penultimate game on Saturday, with the former Philadelphia prospect, Mick Abel, set to start opposite Ranger Suárez. First pitch is at 5:05 PM.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

 

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[tony&rodney]

For those who did not watch the game, I would like to add to Matt Braun's fine summary and agree that Joe Ryan was excellent, even dominant at times.

Ryan did give up a pop fly home run that was probably only out in Philadelphia. The Philly batter deserves credit for keeping his bat in the zone a long time and although fooled and off his front foot managed to lift the ball into the first row. Ryan had  great facial reactions, mouthing "Really".

The bats? Oh well.

Sweet to see Christian Vazquez hit a line drive into the seats and Clemens had a solid triple. Some bad plate appearances though made Nola look better than he is and he is pretty good.

A recurring problem that does not show up in the box score was the 3 errors on plays that MLB players make virtually all day every day, all of which were recorded as base hits. Pitch counts go up and Ryan felt like he needed to strike everyone out. The ongoing poor defense needs to be addressed this winter.

If teams who are going to be looking for a top of the rotation starting pitcher this winter were wondering about Joe Ryan, they can likely be assured that he is the real deal. The price just went back up to where it was a month or so ago.

[Patzky]

That's two games with Clemens on third with no outs and Jeffers and Larnach unable to get him home. Larnach is less than helpful and Jeffers should bat seventh or lower. Next year things to remember!

[mikelink45]

You are right, we miss the daily misery during winter.  Not being a fan of the NBA, once a week NFL does not fill the void - I know they now have Sunday, Monday and Thursday, but mostly it is speculation and prognostication - or rather fluff and fill.  At least baseball gives us something tangible.  I hope TD will start a playoff column daily so that we can keep stories going through the series - it beats taking up the NFL prognostication and prediction essays. 

I still wonder why we had Vasquez at the end of the season instead of a potential catcher for 2026. 

You brought up something that always bothers me - the official scorer giving basehits when it should be errors.  Is this a league memo?

Finally, the Twins seem to be really intent on selling Travis Adams as a RP - it started when they put him on the 40 man really early and it continues as we watch him come in an almost automatically give up runs.  He has a -4.2 WAR in Minneapolis and had a -2.3 in St Paul.  7.64 era and 1.697 whip.  I will never understand why we did not give more young arms some BP experience to end the year instead of Hatch, Cabrera, Adams, Tonkin.

[terrydactyls]

Only two games remain.  The Angels dropped out last night.

   Team.                W-L      GB

1. Minnesota       69-91     ----

2. Pittsburgh      70-90      1 

 

[William K Johnson]

Am I the only one who thinks that resigning Vasquez at a smaller contract would not be the worst thing we could do?   Also, I have had enough of Larnac and Wallner.

Quote

 

 

[Permanent Twins Fan]

35 minutes ago, William K Johnson said:

Am I the only one who thinks that resigning Vasquez at a smaller contract would not be the worst thing we could do?   Also, I have had enough of Larnac and Wallner.

Quote

I commented about that earlier in one of the minor league reports, but I too would like if the Twins signed Vazquez to a contract. Maybe it's only one year 3-4 million, but there isn't much immediate catcher depth for the Twins right now. I also appreciate his motivation to get back to the Twins to end the season even if it doesn't matter

[PDX Twin]

3 hours ago, Patzky said:

That's two games with Clemens on third with no outs and Jeffers and Larnach unable to get him home. Larnach is less than helpful and Jeffers should bat seventh or lower. Next year things to remember!

If the Twins batted everyone who should be seventh or lower in their appropriate positions, their lineup would have about five open slots between Buxton and #7.

[Old Twins Hat]

Caught some of the game.  Is it just me or is Julien a complete hack at 1B.  Can't get his feet right, misses the base.  Very poor looking defender.

[mikelink45]

1 hour ago, William K Johnson said:

Am I the only one who thinks that resigning Vasquez at a smaller contract would not be the worst thing we could do?   Also, I have had enough of Larnac and Wallner.

 

I would not like it.  Develop a young catcher we have plenty in the system.  His bat will not be hard to replace

[Patzky]

10 minutes ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Caught some of the game.  Is it just me or is Julien a complete hack at 1B.  Can't get his feet right, misses the base.  Very poor looking defender.

A weak DH candidate for next season (DH is designated hitter not dark horse or didn't know)

[Patzky]

4 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

I would not like it.  Develop a young catcher we have plenty in the system.  His bat will not be hard to replace

It's absolutely necessary. He's the only one who can take control of calling the game as it's required. Joe called him out after the game, saying he was glad to have him back (HR didn't hurt). 

You want to gamble? Trade Jeffers, sign Vazquez and choose from Pereda and Tait.

[Nashvilletwin]

My son played several little league games on Joe Ryan’s home little league field.  So we’ve enjoyed cheering for him, especially as a Twin.

I made sure to tune in last night to catch his last outing with us.  Sad, 

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, William K Johnson said:

Am I the only one who thinks that resigning Vasquez at a smaller contract would not be the worst thing we could do?   Also, I have had enough of Larnac and Wallner.

 

It would be a rare wise use of FA money.

[Doctor Gast]

8 minutes ago, Nashvilletwin said:

My son played several little league games on Joe Ryan’s home little league field.  So we’ve enjoyed cheering for him, especially as a Twin.

I made sure to tune in last night to catch his last outing with us.  Sad, 

Sad indeed, especially if this is indeed his last outing.

[Doctor Gast]

22 minutes ago, Patzky said:

It's absolutely necessary. He's the only one who can take control of calling the game as it's required. Joe called him out after the game, saying he was glad to have him back (HR didn't hurt). 

You want to gamble? Trade Jeffers, sign Vazquez and choose from Pereda and Tait.

I like your reasoning. But we also have to consider Vazquez is getting older & may have to play less, IMO, Pereda won't be able to take up the slack (even if he turns out) plus Tait is a ways away (even if he makes it at all). So IMO, We still need a promising young MLB-ready catcher to round it off next season.

[Doctor Gast]

Watched Duran through "Talking Twins", he was impressive & wish him & Bader well.

[terrydactyls]

52 minutes ago, Doctor Gast said:

I like your reasoning. But we also have to consider Vazquez is getting older & may have to play less, IMO, Pereda won't be able to take up the slack (even if he turns out) plus Tait is a ways away (even if he makes it at all). So IMO, We still need a promising young MLB-ready catcher to round it off next season.

And just where is this "promising young MLB-ready catcher" to be found?  And what's the price?

[Nshore]

Playing Julien at first base amounts to criminal negligence at this point.

[Parfigliano]

3 hours ago, William K Johnson said:

Am I the only one who thinks that resigning Vasquez at a smaller contract would not be the worst thing we could do?   Also, I have had enough of Larnac and Wallner.

 

Larnach will be gone.  His swing will be properly coached/tweaked and he will be a DB machine with 23+ HR.

Wallner will stay.

[Doctor Gast]

1 hour ago, terrydactyls said:

And just where is this "promising young MLB-ready catcher" to be found?  And what's the price?

There are a few & most would be reasonable but I don't trust Falvey to actually go out & initiate trade on any.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

3 hours ago, Patzky said:

You want to gamble? Trade Jeffers, sign Vazquez and choose from Pereda and Tait.

I'm not sure how serious you are, but Tait isn't even close to ready for the big leagues, and Pareda's OPS was even worse than Vazquez's in his time with the Twins if that's even believable. Tait wasn't bad, but his performance in Cedar Rapids was not so inspiring that he needs to be pushed to the big leagues until at least Opening Day 2027 probably even farther out. The Twins don't have much immediate help at the catcher position for 2026, which is why resigning Vazquez is of interest

[tony&rodney]

4 hours ago, Old Twins Hat said:

Caught some of the game.  Is it just me or is Julien a complete hack at 1B.  Can't get his feet right, misses the base.  Very poor looking defender.

Well, Julian was much better at second base than he has been at first base. That is not an endorsement but rather a reality. Also, remember that Julien doesn't fill out the lineup card.

Putting Julien at first base highlights all of the ways that the position  exposes those who are inexperienced in the nuances of playing there. That is why people should think twice when suggesting player X should learn to play first base. Consider that every simple ground ball to an infielder can potentially end in disaster due to poor glove or footwork by the first baseman and one can put to rest that it is the bottom of the defensive spectrum. 

If Julien is to ever make any positive contributions for a baseball team it won't be at first base.

[Patzky]

1 hour ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

I'm not sure how serious you are, but Tait isn't even close to ready for the big leagues, and Pareda's OPS was even worse than Vazquez's in his time with the Twins if that's even believable. Tait wasn't bad, but his performance in Cedar Rapids was not so inspiring that he needs to be pushed to the big leagues until at least Opening Day 2027 probably even farther out. The Twins don't have much immediate help at the catcher position for 2026, which is why resigning Vazquez is of interest

I think Vazquez is a no brainer, especially if we keep Ryan (Joe) on board.

[terrydactyls]

2 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

There are a few & most would be reasonable but I don't trust Falvey to actually go out & initiate trade on any.

That's a Falvey-ish non-answer.

[Doctor Gast]

55 minutes ago, terrydactyls said:

That's a Falvey-ish non-answer.

For years, I hear that "Oh, there are no trades out there". Yet I see serious FOs making trades I like. I won't waste my time giving my ideas to someone who'll say "Oh, that'll never happen." If Falvey is serious, he can make stuff happen. If I feel you are serious, I'd be happy to share my ideas. If you really want to know, you can check my past posts or go to Baseball Trade Values, they are plastered there. 

[RpR]

6 hours ago, terrydactyls said:

And just where is this "promising young MLB-ready catcher" to be found?  And what's the price?

Some want the Twins to be a AAAA team, for rookie wannabes.

[RpR]

8 hours ago, Patzky said:

A weak DH candidate for next season (DH is designated hitter not dark horse or didn't know)

DH for some other team, or AAA, hopefully some other AAA team.

[Patzky]

That's a tough break if he's hurt

 

[terrydactyls]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

For years, I hear that "Oh, there are no trades out there". Yet I see serious FOs making trades I like. I won't waste my time giving my ideas to someone who'll say "Oh, that'll never happen." If Falvey is serious, he can make stuff happen. If I feel you are serious, I'd be happy to share my ideas. If you really want to know, you can check my past posts or go to Baseball Trade Values, they are plastered there. 

Excellent non-answer gibberish, Mr. Falvey.