Game One: Guardians 6 , Twins 0 : Joe Ryan’s Struggles Continue, And The Hitters Can’t Hit

Box Score
SP: Joe Ryan: 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Home Runs: None by the Twins, a bunch by the Guardians
Bottom 3 WPA: Joe Ryan (-.232), Trevor Larnach (-.080), Royce Lewis (-.065)
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Look, the Guardians are basically the Yankees at this point — at least when it comes to facing the Twins. Over the past four seasons, the Twins record is 18-37 when facing the Guardians coming into today. That record got worse today. Are you surprised? I’m not.

The Pitchers
Joe Ryan took the mound and looked to reverse the uncharacteristically shaky stretch of ball. Across his last seven games, he has a 6.15 ERA. After today’s game, it’s clear that something is off. He gave up three home runs in his first 20 pitches and added another in the top of the fifth. This set a season high and was one off his career mark. He also walked a pair, which is unlike him. Ryan was absolute nails for the first 75% of the season, and had even limited damage from homers, something that has plagued him sporadically throughout his career. Since battling an illness a few weeks ago, Ryan has looked like a husk of himself. While he may benefit from being shut down for the last handful of games, I suppose the Twins want to showcase him for offseason suitors. They certainly aren’t doing him or themselves any favors.

The Guardians sent Slade Cecconi — trade acquisition, and he of the career 5.14 ERA — to the mound. While this season has gone better for him, he still came into the game with a 4.35 ERA and a worse 4.82 WHIP. He throws six pitches, and only the curve rates well. In fact, he doesn’t do much well aside from limiting walks and going deep in games. You know, he is the sort of guy who would have felt right at home on a Rick Anderson coached and Ron Gardenhire managed pitching staff. Naturally, the Twins did Twins things against him as he somehow looked great, going seven strong, allowing just three baserunners and striking out eight.

Themes of the Game

You Have to Hit If You Want to Win
It turns out, you need to have baserunners if you want to win a ballgame. How’s that for analysis? In this one, the Twins had just two baserunners make it as far as second base. Luke Keaschall actually made it all the way to third but couldn’t take the final 90 feet — you know, the ones that matter most. The Twins had just three hits in this one. Austin Martin had a “double” of his own when the game was already out of hand in the bottom of the ninth, but it likely should have been caught. To be fair, the Twins also took two walks, both by Ryan Fitzgerald who has one of the Twins’ highest OPS over the past month or so. Neither mattered.

Thomas Hatch Continues to Make His Case
Thomas Hatch probably won’t be an impact guy, but you know what? When you trade all of your good relievers at the deadline, you need some arms. Hatch hasn’t been super reliable, but he has demonstrated an ability to give them length. Today, he went the final four innings, allowing just one run, striking out two, and generally looked pretty good. He also preserved the bullpen, always important when in a doubleheader situation. At this point, with the number of unknowns heading into 2026, he has probably done enough to pencil himself in as a long man for next year. It’s a little telling, however, that this is the second-most noteworthy thing to discuss from this game.

Game Notes

• Jose Ramirez is very good at baseball. In the first inning, he hit a home run that solidified his third 30-30 campaign. Reminder: the Twins have never had a single 30-30 season.
• Byron Buxton’s plate discipline continues to improve before our very eyes. For the second game in a row, his leadoff plate appearance was a strikeout that wasn’t actually a strikeout.
• The Twins ended their stolen base streak at seven games. It was, however, their longest streak since 2004. Despite the failure to steal, the Twins have still stolen 20% more bases in September than any other team.
• Austin Martin continues to look pretty good, and he may have saved his Twins career over the past month and a half. This stretch, and Simeon Woods Richardson’s last start, has made the Jose Berrios trade look better.

What’s Next?
The Twins play the second half of their doubleheader. Bailey Ober faces off against lefty Logan Allen. First pitch is at 6:10 PM. Stay tuned, ‘cuz it almost has to be a better game than this one.

Postgame Interviews

Stay tuned!

Bullpen Usage