Twins 9, Rangers 3: Larnach Stays Red-Hot, Joe Ryan Deals as Twins Secure Sweep

[Sam Caulder]

Image courtesy of © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Box Score
SP: Joe Ryan - 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K (97 pitches, 67 strikes (69% strikes))
Home Runs: Brooks Lee, Trevor Larnach, Ryan Kreidler
Top 3 WPA: Brooks Lee (0.20), Joe Ryan (0.15), Josh Bell (0.11)
Win Probability Chart

The Twins entered Thursday afternoon’s series finale against the Rangers looking to complete a three-game sweep and make it four straight wins. With Joe Ryan on the mound and the offense swinging hot bats, the Twins delivered one of their more complete performances of the season, rolling to a 9-3 victory and securing the sweep in Texas.

EARLY OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION PUT THE RANGERS IN A HOLE
The Twins wasted no time jumping on Rangers starter Jack Leiter. Trevor Larnach opened the game by lining the very first pitch into center field for a single, and after Kody Clemens followed with a base hit of his own, Minnesota quickly put pressure on the young right-hander.

Royce Lewis struck out swinging for the second out of the inning, but Josh Bell continued his torrid stretch by ripping a two-strike changeup into right field to score Larnach and give the Twins a 1-0 lead.

The big blow came moments later. After Leiter used his changeup to punch out both Byron Buxton and Lewis earlier in the frame, Brooks Lee got a changeup that stayed over the plate and didn't miss it. Lee crushed it 104 MPH over the wall in right field for a three-run homer, extending Minnesota's lead to 4-0 before Joe Ryan even took the mound.

The Twins sent eight hitters to the plate in the inning, forcing Leiter to throw 28 pitches and immediately placing the Rangers in catch-up mode.

LARNACH STAYS RED HOT
Minnesota's offense cooled briefly over the next couple innings, but Trevor Larnach made sure the lead continued to grow. After Luke Keaschall worked a two-out walk in the fourth inning and swiped second base, Larnach stepped in and capped off an eight-pitch at-bat by launching a two-run homer to center field. Initially, it looked like Alejandro Osuna might have a chance to bring it back, but the ball carried just over the wall, giving the Twins a commanding 6-0 advantage.

An inning later, he added another RBI with a bloop single to left field that scored Victor Caratini and pushed the lead to 7-0.

Larnach finished the afternoon with three hits, including the homer, continuing what has been one of the hottest stretches of his season.

JOE RYAN BENDS BUT DOESN'T BREAK
While the offense provided plenty of support, Joe Ryan had to work harder than usual to keep the Rangers off the board. Texas put multiple runners on base in both the second and third innings, forcing Ryan to navigate traffic throughout much of his outing. His pitch count climbed quickly, reaching 65 pitches through three innings and 83 through four.

Still, whenever the Rangers threatened, Ryan found a way to make the big pitch.

He struck out Joc Pederson three times, froze Kyle Higashioka with a front-door sweeper, and worked around several baserunners to complete five scoreless innings. It wasn't his most efficient start, as he needed 97 pitches to record 15 outs, but he generated 13 whiffs, threw 69% of his pitches for strikes, and most importantly, left the game without allowing a run.

BULLPEN WEATHERS A BRIEF STORM
The only real blemish on the afternoon came in the sixth inning. Justin Lawrence entered in relief and immediately surrendered a solo homer to Wyatt Langford on the first pitch he threw. Two batters later, Ezequiel Duran added another solo shot, trimming the lead to 7-2.

Any thoughts of a Rangers comeback were short-lived. Taylor Rogers worked around trouble in the seventh before Andrew Morris entered and promptly induced a 6-4-3 double play to erase a potential rally.

Eric Orze escaped a two-on situation in the eighth, and Cody Laweryson closed things out in the ninth despite allowing a late solo homer.

TWINS ADD INSURANCE AND FINISH THE SWEEP
The Twins made sure Texas never got any closer. Ryan Kreidler provided the biggest insurance of the day in the eighth inning, turning on a middle-middle cutter and driving a two-run homer. The blast extended the lead to 9-2 and effectively put the game out of reach.

Caratini added three hits in the victory, Keaschall reached base four times, and Bell continued his impressive series with another multi-hit performance.

Even with Royce Lewis enduring a difficult afternoon that included four strikeouts, the Twins' lineup produced 15 hits and consistently applied pressure throughout the game. By the time the final out settled into Keaschall’s glove at second base, Minnesota had completed the series sweep and continued its recent surge.

After a pair of disappointing divisional series against the Royals and Tigers, the Twins responded exactly how they needed to, taking five of six games against the Cardinals and Rangers. At 36-40, Minnesota remains within striking distance in the American League Central and will carry some much-needed momentum into the weekend.

What’s Next?
The Twins travel to Phoenix, Arizona to take on the Diamondbacks in a three-game weekend series, starting Friday night. Connor Prielipp is set to throw for the good guys, and right-hander Mike Soroka is the probable starter for the Diamondbacks. First pitch is set for 8:45 PM on Apple TV.

Postgame Interviews
Coming Soon!

Bullpen Availability Chart

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[Aggies7]

I would almost begin to believe if most of the bullpen and some starters weren’t so bad. Hopefully some arms start returning so we can trim the dead weight, because the offense has been fun to watch. Only a game and a half out of a wild card spot approaching July. What a miracle it would be to qualify.

[Danchat]

This team sure seems to run hot and cold at times. That is not strange in baseball, but this club seems to be an exception. Multiple stretches of looking like a bottom 5 team, and now multiple stretches of looking like a team that could win this division.

[stringer bell]

A really nice game for Keaschall. Not so good for Lewis and Buxton. Larnach had another nice day at the plate and Brooks’ HR broke it open. 

[JADBP]

OK, so can we please be done with the Justin Lawrence  experiment.  He's throwing batting practice, and seems like every team is taking him deep!  He really is hurting team right now.  

I am going to the games here in Phoenix on Saturday and Sunday...YAY!!  But I don't want to see Lawrence pitching this weekend!  Dang!  

[thelanges5]

Joe has been great since the elbow scare. Trevor is boosting up that trade value.
Bullpen keeping it interesting. Lawrence’s days have to be numbered. 
 

Great series overall. Go Twins!

[weitz41]

Waiting for the next waiver wire pick up to replace Lawerence...Lewis 4K's today...Knock it off Royce you're ruining my happy vibe.

[CRF]

Gotta keep padding the lead with the pen we have. Larnach increasing his trade value works for me.  

[shimrod]

Reminiscent of the Boston series earlier in the year. To echo an earlier comment, how can a team capable of playing this well play so poorly for long stretches? 

[Peter]

No trades!!! No selling!!! Huge sweep and 1.5 games back of wild card!!!

[thelanges5]

47 minutes ago, Peter said:

No trades!!! No selling!!! Huge sweep and 1.5 games back of wild card!!!

Peter, we can trade Trevor and still be good. We can call up a Roden or Jenkins or E-Rod or Gabby. 

[mark allen]

1 hour ago, JADBP said:

OK, so can we please be done with the Justin Lawrence  experiment.  He's throwing batting practice, and seems like every team is taking him deep!  He really is hurting team right now.  

I am going to the games here in Phoenix on Saturday and Sunday...YAY!!  But I don't want to see Lawrence pitching this weekend!  Dang!  

I will be at game also go twins

 

[JD-TWINS]

6 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Peter, we can trade Trevor and still be good. We can call up a Roden or Jenkins or E-Rod or Gabby. 

4-5 years ago Larnach, as a prospect, used to be viewed as somewhere between where E-Rod and Jenkins are ranked now.

None of the left handed hitting guys above have performed well enough to be called up. Unless something changed, E-Rod is out until August after his intelligent head-first slide into 1B & subsequent thumb surgery. 

What does the Team get back for Larnach that’s going to outweigh his contributions? Relative to other productive guys that are 29, he’s almost free at $4.5M. To me, if one of the young guys flourishes, which has yet to happen, Larnach should be the left handed DH in ‘28….,,occasional LF as needed.

As I said, Larnach was a highly touted bat coming out of college - he got healthy and had a good year in ‘24 and dropped off last year as they let him face LH pitching for 118 AB’s…..on pace to have his best year at the plate in ‘26 and he’s at least average according to metrics in LF.

Trading guys, when they get to finally show signs of being a professional hitter, doesn’t make much sense to me.

I don’t care if E-Rod or Roden ever play a game at Target Field if Larnach is performing in front of them. RF is currently wide open IMO …… Clemens is staking a claim…… one of the young guys might force Clemens back into the Infield?

[JD-TWINS]

1 hour ago, shimrod said:

Reminiscent of the Boston series earlier in the year. To echo an earlier comment, how can a team capable of playing this well play so poorly for long stretches? 

Opponents have a lot to do with how the TWINS or any Club looks……that’s at least part of the equation for the terrible team/great team effect.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, stringer bell said:

A really nice game for Keaschall. Not so good for Lewis and Buxton. Larnach had another nice day at the plate and Brooks’ HR broke it open. 

Lewis cant handle hitting 3-4.  Put him 5-7.

[Bracky]

22 minutes ago, JD-TWINS said:

4-5 years ago Larnach, as a prospect, used to be viewed as somewhere between where E-Rod and Jenkins are ranked now.

None of the left handed hitting guys above have performed well enough to be called up. Unless something changed, E-Rod is out until August after his intelligent head-first slide into 1B & subsequent thumb surgery. 

What does the Team get back for Larnach that’s going to outweigh his contributions? Relative to other productive guys that are 29, he’s almost free at $4.5M. To me, if one of the young guys flourishes, which has yet to happen, Larnach should be the left handed DH in ‘28….,,occasional LF as needed.

As I said, Larnach was a highly touted bat coming out of college - he got healthy and had a good year in ‘24 and dropped off last year as they let him face LH pitching for 118 AB’s…..on pace to have his best year at the plate in ‘26 and he’s at least average according to metrics in LF.

Trading guys, when they get to finally show signs of being a professional hitter, doesn’t make much sense to me.

I don’t care if E-Rod or Roden ever play a game at Target Field if Larnach is performing in front of them. RF is currently wide open IMO …… Clemens is staking a claim…… one of the young guys might force Clemens back into the Infield?

Really appreciate your take. Sometimes (especially this year) many of us seem to have an obsession with trading for “prospects”. But there is zero guarantee trading for a prospect no matter how highly touted amounts to anything. Some of this feels like we want to make a trade or sale for the sake of trading or selling.

[Blyleven2011]

Nice series , twins out scored the rangers 25 to 7 for a series sweep , team has a 4 game winning streak ...

Offense has woken up , 1st inning runs are always appreciated especially to the starting pitcher ...

Fun to watch when we have good Offense  , defense and pitching  ...

5 relievers followed Ryan  , two were acceptable  ( Morris and Orze ) , Lawrence  , Roger's and Lawyerson not so much ...

Good bet when they activate Abel for Arizona series that Lawrence is DFA'd  , if not the team FO personal are crazy ...

[mnfireman]

Nice to see the team have a big offensive game with 2-3-4 (Buxton, Clemens, Lewis) a combined 1-15 at the plate. The big guys can't carry the team everyday, but let's hope they pick it up over the weekend...

[wornsmooth]

3 hours ago, CRF said:

Gotta keep padding the lead with the pen we have. Larnach increasing his trade value works for me.  

Rather than trade Larnach, why not keep him?

 

When the time comes, pay him enough to stay?

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, Bracky said:

But there is zero guarantee trading for a prospect no matter how highly touted amounts to anything. 

Zero guarantee that the "sure thing" veteran, whether by trade or by free agency, continues to perform at his customary high level, either. 

Every transaction amounts to each front office placing bets, rather than acquiring commodities.

[Mike Sixel]

1 hour ago, Bracky said:

Really appreciate your take. Sometimes (especially this year) many of us seem to have an obsession with trading for “prospects”. But there is zero guarantee trading for a prospect no matter how highly touted amounts to anything. Some of this feels like we want to make a trade or sale for the sake of trading or selling.

No team is built without prospects. This team isn't good. He'll cost ten percent of the budget next year. He should be traded, given the context of the team. No one on this site wants to trade for the sake if trading, that straw man has to die. 

[tony&rodney]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

4-5 years ago Larnach, as a prospect, used to be viewed as somewhere between where E-Rod and Jenkins are ranked now.

 

Larnach is really hitting the ball well at this time. There really isn't any comparison between Jenkins, Rodriguez, and Larnach. They are all quite a bit different in their skill sets. The bottom line is that Larnach plays until such time as another player's performance pushes him off of the position. Clemens has been hot as well and he plays good defense at several positions, so he is getting a ton of playing time. Performance counts and it is sweet to see Trevor hitting line drives.

[Jack Pine]

1 hour ago, Parfigliano said:

Lewis cant handle hitting 3-4.  Put him 5-7.

Lewis has his bomba swing back.

[Linus]

Hat tip to Larnach. I’ve never been a big fan but he has improved on both sides of the ball. I would still trade him for any reasonable return but I think he deserves credit for getting better at the middle / later part of his career.