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    Make It Official! Twins 6, Royals 5: Ryan Dominates, Young Sluggers Blast Off for Big Win

    Nate Palmer

    By Nate Palmer

    It was a mild, cool Memorial Day, but Joe Ryan brought the heat and the bullpen made fans sweat late as the Twins defeated the Royals 6-5.

    Image courtesy of © Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

    Twins Video

    Box Score
    SP: Joe Ryan: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (99 pitches, 68 strikes (68.7%)
    Home Runs: José Miranda (5), Trevor Larnach (4)
    Top 3 WPA: Joe Ryan (0.294), José Miranda (0.167), Trevor Larnach (0.111)

    Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

    image.png.059d5e819a7a6a33a97a257255b429cc.png

    As the United States paused to remember those who gave their life for our country, the Minnesota Twins played a game proving why baseball is America’s pastime. With the Kansas City Royals in town, this series can have significant ramifications when the season ends in an already very competitive American League Central. 

    Miranda Continues to Provide Power
    As the Twins came to bat in the third inning, there hadn’t been anything in the way of offense outside of a Bobby Witt Jr. single. The Twins' first hit came off of the struggling bat of Edouard Julien, who almost seemed to fight off a pitch to an open hole down the third base line. Up to Julien’s hit, Alec Marsh had been perfect. 

    After Julien knocked perfection off Marsh’s Monday afternoon resume, Jose Miranda obliterated the shutout from that same resume. In the next at-bat, Miranda took a 96 mph sinker 437 feet at 107.4 mph for his fifth home run on the season. Taking the Twins to a loud 2-0 lead.  

    As Larnach Launches
    Come the fifth inning, the Twins continued to get to Marsh. It started with walks by both Willi Castro and Julien. Those walks would sure haunt. That haunting came to bear on the barrel of Trevor Larnach’s bat. Larnach took his turn, taking Marsh deep out, doing Miranda in both distance and exit velocity, and giving a dominant performance from Joe Ryan a 5-0 lead. 

    The 6th inning was the first glimpse at Ryan looking human. With Maikel Garcia on base, Bobby Witt Jr. singled his way on for his second hit of the game and to put two runners on the basepaths. Witt was the one Royals batter to have significant success against Ryan, which makes sense as Witt is becoming one of those division rivals who is a long-term thorn in the Twins' side. He already boasts a .869 OPS in his young career when facing the Twins. 

    Vinnie Pasquantino would put the finishing touches on a run-scoring opportunity by hitting a single and scoring Garcia. Ryan would keep the damage to just one run by striking out Salvador Perez to end the sixth inning. 

    Twins Daily's winning "Make It Official!" game recaps are sponsored by Official Fried Chicken, which you can find in center field of Target Field. With a name like "Official," we know we have to be the best in the game every day, and from your first bite, you'll know thats a promise we make good on.

    Ryan’s Overall Dominance
    Ryan was throwing some of his best stuff all Monday, holding off the Royals' offense and striking them out nine times. This included 15 swings and misses, which kept the visiting team's bats off balance. Outside of the one run scored, Ryan was only off-balance when he almost toppled over in the fifth inning. That is the sort of blunder that we can exchange for a performance like he had on Monday. 

    After Monday’s outing, Ryan brought his season-long ERA below three to 2.96 in his 11 starts. He has also collected 73 strikeouts as he has been a bright spot in the Twins rotation. 

    One blip on the Twins' radar Monday came to the bullpen. As the Twins extended their lead, an attempt was made to save some of the top arms later in the week. Cole Sands was unable to fulfill those duties. Instead, Jhoan Duran was called on to get the final out and the save. 

    Duran and the defense behind him didn’t equal a sure thing. The Royals capitalized on a pair of infield hits and an errant throw from Castro to bring themselves within one run of the Twins. Thankfully, all of Twins Territory exhaled as Duran fielded a short grounder and flipped it to first for the final out. 

    A game that should be remembered for Joe Ryan’s performance will also be remembered for a near meltdown. In the end, it counts the same in the win column. Wins are what the Twins need to continue to collect this week against the Royals. 

    What’s Next?
    With the opportunity to win the first two games of an important series, the Twins will send Simeon Woods Richardson to the mound. The Royals will counter with Cole Ragans, who can be a tough lefty against any lineup. The Twins will look to keep their bats going like they were Monday afternoon. 

    Postgame Interviews

     

     

    Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet

     

      THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT
    Durán 0 15 8 0 15 38
    Alcalá 0 0 0 38 0 38
    Sands 0 0 22 0 16 38
    Jax 0 10 0 0 13 23
    Staumont  0 0 0 19 0 19
    Thielbar 0 12 0 0 0 12
    Okert 0 5 0 0 0 5
    Nate Palmer, I write so I can talk baseball with other fans.
    Follow Nate Palmer on Twitter: palmern2twins

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    Featured Comments

    JD-TWINS

    JD-TWINS 6,210

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

    I hope you are right.  But during our last streak of losses the BP has not been the strength we hoped for.

     

    Agreed, not as strong as it should/could be.

    Duran gave up game losing HR’s twice on his curveball…….,am hoping these were more of an outlier.

    Jackson, in 6 appearances from May 5 to May 18 he had 4 games in which he gave up 2 runs - 3 runs - 2 runs - 4 runs. He’s no longer an option and that should help some.

    bean5302

    bean5302 9,281

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    13 hours ago, arby58 said:

    Given the Rays are currently 23rd in MLB in ERA (and have a losing record), my guess is their fans would be ecstatic to have Ryan in their rotation.

    You're missing the point.

    In any case, I expect Ryan will turn right back into a pumpkin like he always does. Makes some adjustments, scouting reports lag behind, hitters adapt, Ryan gets destroyed. Rinse, repeat. It is impressive Ryan is able to keep finding magic tricks that work for a couple months, though. I've got zero faith in Ryan ever being more than a back end guy.

     

    jmlease1

    jmlease1 15,285

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Joe Ryan was terrific. 7 innings, only 4 hits, no walks, and kept it in the park. Really good to see him finishing off hitters effectively. In his last 4 starts he's put up his highest 3 Game Scores of the season. He's really throwing well right now, and having an excellent season. He's gotten into the 6th in every single start this season, only had one start all year where he's yielded more than 1 free pass too. He's really fun to watch. I hope he can sustain this kind of run; he's been worse in the second half of the season so far in his career. But that also includes last year's muck up where he tried to pitch through an injury, and I suspect he's learned not to try and hide something like that again.

    Nice to see Larnach slam one out; he'd been scuffling after a hit start, so it'll be interesting to see if this gets him back on track. Miranda's bomb was a no-doubter too and he's definitely making the case to stick around after Royce returns.

     

    madtowntwin

    madtowntwin 233

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    "Destroyed" & "Magic Tricks" Bean?? Did you watch the game? Joe was touching 96 / 97 mph - Where did that come from??

    Like Bailey - He tends to live at the top of the zone and when he has any semblance of consistency at the bottom he can be a very problematic plate appearance for any hitter....If that velocity and bottom zone control is sustainable we could be looking at a "Pitching  Prince" rather than "Pumpkin."!! 

    Let's also hope that the Royals used all of their "Magic Bullets" in the first game....Duck snorts, elusive infield grounders, and frustrating foot foul balls....Yikes.

    Win Twins!!

    arby58

    arby58 3,616

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    2 hours ago, bean5302 said:

    You're missing the point.

    In any case, I expect Ryan will turn right back into a pumpkin like he always does. Makes some adjustments, scouting reports lag behind, hitters adapt, Ryan gets destroyed. Rinse, repeat. It is impressive Ryan is able to keep finding magic tricks that work for a couple months, though. I've got zero faith in Ryan ever being more than a back end guy.

     

    "The point"" is here and now. Here and now the Rays would benefit from having Ryan, and suggesting it's ok because they MIGHT churn out another talented pitcher is just a rationalization of a bad trade for them.

    Did you watch yesterday's game? I did - Ryan overpowered a line-up that is second in the AL (and fourth in all of MLB) in runs scored. He threw harder than ever, and he was efficient as well - 9 Ks no walks. Rationalize that away.

    bean5302

    bean5302 9,281

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    2 hours ago, madtowntwin said:

    "Destroyed" & "Magic Tricks" Bean?? Did you watch the game? Joe was touching 96 / 97 mph - Where did that come from??

    Like Bailey - He tends to live at the top of the zone and when he has any semblance of consistency at the bottom he can be a very problematic plate appearance for any hitter....If that velocity and bottom zone control is sustainable we could be looking at a "Pitching  Prince" rather than "Pumpkin."!! 

    Let's also hope that the Royals used all of their "Magic Bullets" in the first game....Duck snorts, elusive infield grounders, and frustrating foot foul balls....Yikes.

    Win Twins!!

    I watched the last couple of seasons. Ryan comes out, pitches well early, Twins fans lose their minds and declare Ryan an elite playoff starter in the making, then the league adjusts to Ryan's changes. That's what I've seen.

    First 50% starts vs. Second 50% ERA
    2022 - 2.99 vs. 4.14
    2023 - 2.98 vs. 6.62

    bean5302

    bean5302 9,281

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    1 hour ago, arby58 said:

    "The point"" is here and now. Here and now the Rays would benefit from having Ryan, and suggesting it's ok because they MIGHT churn out another talented pitcher is just a rationalization of a bad trade for them.

    Did you watch yesterday's game? I did - Ryan overpowered a line-up that is second in the AL (and fourth in all of MLB) in runs scored. He threw harder than ever, and he was efficient as well - 9 Ks no walks. Rationalize that away.

    The point is the Rays are the premier pitching development team in MLB. The model every team wishes they could follow successfully, a team whose made the playoffs 5 consecutive years, and made the World Series in 2020 despite playing in arguably the toughest division in baseball year in and year out. The Rays get beaten in trades sometimes, and the Joe Ryan trade was one of those times. Joe Ryan was a steal for Nelson Cruz, but considering the Rays churn out a Joe Ryan like every year, it's probably not absolutely eating them up. Now, for the Twins, who draft and develop 1 Joe Ryan every 10 years, it'd be a much bigger loss.

    arby58

    arby58 3,616

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    4 hours ago, bean5302 said:

    The point is the Rays are the premier pitching development team in MLB. The model every team wishes they could follow successfully, a team whose made the playoffs 5 consecutive years, and made the World Series in 2020 despite playing in arguably the toughest division in baseball year in and year out. The Rays get beaten in trades sometimes, and the Joe Ryan trade was one of those times. Joe Ryan was a steal for Nelson Cruz, but considering the Rays churn out a Joe Ryan like every year, it's probably not absolutely eating them up. Now, for the Twins, who draft and develop 1 Joe Ryan every 10 years, it'd be a much bigger loss.

    You should take this rap to a Rays discussion board and ask their fans if they think it was 'no big deal' that they basically gave away what is now a starting pitcher with an ERA under 3.

    Just as the first thing you learn in investing is that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results, I'm not buying into the first half/second half theory to explain Ryan this year. As he admitted, he was injured last year and tried to play through it - that was dumb, but it helps to explain his performance. Second, he IS throwing harder this year on his fast ball, and he is actually throwing it less often - which was probably part of the 'catch up' in previous years.

    This idea that it takes the league time to catch up doesn't make a lot of sense - they have tape of every game he pitches, they shouldn't need volumes of his work to 'catch up' if that is what they are able to do. Mowing down the hot-hitting Royals yesterday was impressive - I get the impression you didn't actually watch the game. 

    bean5302

    bean5302 9,281

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    42 minutes ago, arby58 said:

    You should take this rap to a Rays discussion board and ask their fans if they think it was 'no big deal' that they basically gave away what is now a starting pitcher with an ERA under 3.

    Just as the first thing you learn in investing is that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results, I'm not buying into the first half/second half theory to explain Ryan this year. As he admitted, he was injured last year and tried to play through it - that was dumb, but it helps to explain his performance. Second, he IS throwing harder this year on his fast ball, and he is actually throwing it less often - which was probably part of the 'catch up' in previous years.

    This idea that it takes the league time to catch up doesn't make a lot of sense - they have tape of every game he pitches, they shouldn't need volumes of his work to 'catch up' if that is what they are able to do. Mowing down the hot-hitting Royals yesterday was impressive - I get the impression you didn't actually watch the game. 

    I went to a couple Rays Fan sites. I did some searching. Didn't find much about Joe Ryan bellyaching.

    USAFChief

    USAFChief 78,970

  • Twins Daily Contributor

    • Posted

    37 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

    I went to a couple Rays Fan sites. I did some searching. Didn't find much about Joe Ryan bellyaching.

    There might be a few complaining about that trade. But a smart team makes that trade 100 times out of 100. TB was trying to win a WS.  I'd sure as hell hope the Twins would make that deal 100 times out of 100.

    Flags fly forever. It's the entire point of MLB. Sometimes a minor leaguer works out down the line. So ******* what.

    stringer bell

    stringer bell 25,881

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    6 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

    There might be a few complaining about that trade. But a smart team makes that trade 100 times out of 100. TB was trying to win a WS.  I'd sure as hell hope the Twins would make that deal 100 times out of 100.

    Flags fly forever. It's the entire point of MLB. Sometimes a minor leaguer works out down the line. So ******* what.

    Yep. The classic "trade for now" transaction was Doyle Alexander to the Tigers for a minor leaguer. Alexander was great for the Tigers (9-0 1.53 ERA) that year, but the Twins beat the Kitties in the playoffs. Oh BTW, the minor leaguer was John Smoltz, a future Hall of Famer.

    USAFChief

    USAFChief 78,970

  • Twins Daily Contributor

    • Posted

    3 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

    Yep. The classic "trade for now" transaction was Doyle Alexander to the Tigers for a minor leaguer. Alexander was great for the Tigers (9-0 1.53 ERA) that year, but the Twins beat the Kitties in the playoffs. Oh BTW, the minor leaguer was John Smoltz, a future Hall of Famer.

    Yup.

    And I remember Gaetti lighting up Alexander like a christmas tree.

    Doesn't always work out, but you GOTTA make trades to help contenders.

    arby58

    arby58 3,616

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

    I went to a couple Rays Fan sites. I did some searching. Didn't find much about Joe Ryan bellyaching.

    Now you have 'missed the point.' The request was 'ask them directly' which you didn't do. Of course they aren't going to be stirred up about a trade from years ago unless given the opportunity to comment on it



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