Cubs 8, Twins 2: Joe Ryan Leaves Early, Lots of Things Fall Apart At Once

Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K (33 pitches, 22 strikes (66.7% strikes))
Home Runs: None
Top 3 WPA: Max Kepler .143, Matt Wallner .089, Carlos Santana .034, 
Bottom 3 WPA: Trevor Richards -.347, Willi Castro -.100, Austin Martin -.094

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Getting Runs Early 
Following Tuesday night’s 8-3 loss, the Twins bats determined to get on the board early in this one. Trevor Larnach drew a one-out walk in the top of the first, and two batters later, Matt Wallner drilled an RBI double to right-center to drive him in and put the Twins up 1-0.

That lead was shortlived, but the Twins offense continued to be a thorn in Cubs starter Javier Assad’s side. Carlos Santana and Max Kepler led off the second with back-to-back singles. With one out, Brooks Lee was up. He battled out a 12-pitch at-bat and managed an RBI groundout to score Santana and give the Twins back the lead again. 

The Joe Ryan Experience Makes a Sudden Stop
Joe Ryan had heavy expectations on him on Wednesday afternoon. He’d be making the Twins' last start before a four-game series against the Guardians at home, and he needed to do his part to ensure a win before a pivotal series for the American League Central takes place.

Ryan struck out Ian Happ on three quick pitches to begin the game. The next batter, Cubs first baseman and Minnesota native Michael Busch, would not make things so easy. On a 2-2 count, Ryan threw a 94.1 MPH fastball right down the middle for Busch, who crushed it for a solo home run to right-center field.

Ryan would have a quick 10-pitch, 1-2-3 second inning. But things turned for the worse in the third. After throwing only four pitches to Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ryan had a visit on the mound from Twins trainer Nick Paparesta. Whatever Ryan felt on the previous two pitches didn’t sit right with him, and Ryan removed himself from the game after facing only eight batters. He was diagnosed with triceps tightness, which could mean any number of things. Now, we wait.

Unexpected Bullpen Game
Trevor Richards was the first man out of the Twins bullpen following Ryan’s exit from the game. He came in inheriting a 1-2 count on Crow-Armstrong, threw two balls outside the strike zone, then allowed a base hit into right field to get one of the Cubs' deadliest baserunners on. 

Things would not get any easier for Richards, as his command of the strike zone was not there. He walked three batters in the bottom of the third, including a bases-loaded freebie to Seiya Suzuki that tied the game. Suzuki’s RBI walk was followed by a sacrifice fly from Isaac Parades that gave the Cubs a 3-2 lead.

Richards did not even make it out of the third inning after throwing 41 pitches, walking five batters, and having only 17 of those 41 pitches landed for strikes. 

Cole Sands came into the game to mop up Richards's mess, getting Dansby Swanson to ground out and keep the Twins out of further damage only trailing 4-2.

Sands would remain on for the fourth, and while his command of the strike zone was much better than Richards's, the results were just as bad. After Christian Bethancourt hit a one-out double, Happ drilled a 96.5 MPH fastball down and in for a two-run shot to extend the Cubs lead to 6-2. Fortunately, Sands would regain his composure and avert any further damage as he retired the final two batters.

Josh Winder threw only 10 pitches to get the Twins through the fifth without the deficit growing. He remained in the game for the bottom half of the sixth and was once again perfect, getting a groundout and two strikeouts on just 13 pitches. He did allow a hit in the seventh, but held Chicago scoreless for a third frame in a row. In the meantime, though, zeros piled up on the Twins' row of the scoreboard.

Caleb Thielbar was the Twins' last man out of the bullpen Wednesday, and things did not go well for him. The Cubs managed to get three hits and score two more insurance runs off him, all but securing their win with an 8-2 lead. 

Bats go Cold After Ryan's Exit 
While the Twins were able to get at least one base runner in each inning from the 4th to the 6th, they managed to leave each runner stranded. Kepler drew a walk in the fourth and was left behind, José Miranda had a two-out double in the fifth, but saw no help from Wallner who struck out swinging. Santana had his second hit of the game in the sixth, but was left stranded.
The trend continued into the seventh inning, as Lee had a leadoff single, but was out on a force out at second hit by Willi Castro.

Aside from Austin Martin getting hit by a pitch in the top of the ninth, the Twins combined to go 0-for-6 with no base runners in the last two innings, leaving five runners on base after Ryan's departure.

Other Notes
Ryan’s injury exit from the game was announced to be a right triceps injury. This was the first time all season Ryan left a game due to injury. More details are to come following the Twins postgame.

What’s Next? 
The Twins are off on Thursday but will return home for their biggest series of the summer against the Cleveland Guardians. They will play a doubleheader Friday against Cleveland with Bailey Ober and Louie Varland as their starters. The Twins have yet to announce who is starting which game. Game 1 starts at 4:10 p.m.

Postgame Interview 
Coming soon.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet