Twins 9, Royals 4: Minnesota Clobbers Seth Lugo In Decisive Win

Box Score
Joe Ryan: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
Home Runs: Matt Wallner (16), Kody Clemens (13)
Top 3 WPA: Luke Keaschall (.146), Ryan Jeffers (.101), Kody Clemens (.094)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

The prodigal sons return home. Or maybe they never left. Connecting the allegorical themes of the biblical story and this baseball team seems strained. In any case, the Ship of Theseus Twins, fresh off a convincing and enjoyable series win in Detroit, graced Target Field with their presence for the first time since 40% of the squad was sent elsewhere. It’s the dawn of a new age; one in which Alan Roden not only exists in Minnesota’s shared memory, but hits leadoff. How would the hometown faithful greet their new heroes? And would they bring new tales to tell?

Initial results favored the opponent. Long-time Giant Mike Yastrzemski greeted Joe Ryan with a lead-off blast deep into the overhang in right field. The homer augured an occasional quirk of Ryan: a decidedly poor first inning that casts doubt on his ability going forward in the game. He allowed another hit. He threw 26 pitches. The final out nearly banged off the right field wall. That’s just how it goes.

Fortunately, these Twins are apparently resilient in a way previously rarely seen before the Great Trade-Off of 2025. Facing Seth Lugo and his perpetual offerings, Matt Wallner found a fastball to his liking and cracked the pitch 434 feet to left-center to tie the game. 

With an even slate, Minnesota went to work. Ryan Jeffers walked, and Kody Clemens sharply singled to left to set up Luke Keaschall with two men on base. Pro tip: you do not want to set up Luke Keaschall with two men on base. The youngster slashed a single to right before helping a third run score by beating the throw to second off a Royce Lewis dribbler. 

The onslaught continued. A pair of runs scored in the second. Ryan Jeffers knocked in the first. The RBI machine, Keaschall, drove in the other. The jersey retirement ceremony will occur any day now. 

The Twins fell silent in the third—perhaps lulling Lugo into some sense of relaxation—before uncoiling for a fourth-inning strike. Jeffers chopped a grounder too tall for first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, setting up Clemens to smash a two-run shot, giving Minnesota seven runs off the 2024 AL Cy Young runner-up. 

All the while, Ryan settled into the usual competence that made him so coveted at the trade deadline - and so worthy of remaining a Twin. He navigated Kansas City’s lineup with ease, striking out five across five frames with the Yastrzemski homer remaining as his lone blemish. Once again, he also blessed us with an iconic image: this time, a still of him harkening back to Suleiman the Magnificent, or perhaps an ancient Muslim at the Baghdad House of Wisdom, or maybe the Girl with the Pearl Earring, this time swathed in a Gatorade-branded towel.

The rest of the game was window dressing surrounding the inevitable. Travis Adams entered. Bobby Witt Jr. immediately homered. So it goes. Minnesota responded with two scores to push their total to nine. Adams allowed another run. Cole Sands was forced to enter the game. He loaded the bases. There was maybe a second where things got uncomfortable. Adam Frazier softly grounded out to conclude the threat.

Brooks Kriske took the mound in the ninth to end what we already knew to be true; that the Twins had won on Friday in impressive fashion. Few cared that he allowed a run. Is this 2017 2.0? We shall see. 

Notes

In his pregame talk, manager Rocco Baldelli revealed that his strategy versus Lugo was to load up the lineup with as many left-handed hitters as he could find because Lugo has been particularly effective versus right-handed hitters this year. He's right: left-handed batters entered the game wth a 788 OPS against Lugo, while right-handed hitters have just a 572 OPS with a .177 batting average.

So the Twins lineup only included three right-handed hitters: Royce Lewis, Luke Keaschall, and Ryan Jeffers. The other seven batters went 7-17 (.412 BA) against Lugo, including two home runs and seven earned runs. Though the three righties found success, as well, so maybe it was just one of those nights. 

Matt Wallner is slashing .292/.452/.792 in his last seven games with more walks (6) than strikeouts (5).

Joe Ryan has set a career high in fWAR with 3.2 (although that number could fall, as WAR is not a counting stat.) He also crossed the 600-inning mark in his MLB career.

Luke Keaschall's 10 RBIs through his first 10 games is a Twins team record. 

Across their last three games, the Twins have taken 12 walks while striking out nine times.

Post-Game Interview:

What’s Next?
The Twins and Royals meet again for a game on Saturday. An evening affair with a 6:10 PM start time, Bailey Ober will start opposite lefty Noah Cameron. 

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