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As the game of baseball and those who consume the game on a day-to-day basis continue to progress, the symbiotic relationship between the two appears to be heading toward a collective understanding: It is okay to pull pitchers when they are struggling instead of keeping them in for the sake of keeping them in.
Like most efforts of progression, there are those stuck in what the status quo once was unwilling to open their minds, usually due to a stubborn belief system or the desire to combat change, typically induced by fear of the future and its unknown nature.
Regardless, we find ourselves in a situation where Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and the organization still get critiqued for their tendency to have a "quick hook." Despite this outdated narrative continuing to run rampant, the Twins ranked fourth in Major League Baseball for innings pitched for starters, with 895 out of 1451 1/3 (62%) innings pitched by Twins pitchers thrown by starting pitchers.
False narratives like the one surrounding Baldelli, the Twins, and the nature of "quick hooks" will continue as long as people elect to neglect the reality of situations. Often, the neglect is intentional.
So, when the Twins pulled starting pitcher Joe Ryan after pitching two innings and facing just eight Houston Astros batters, numerous fans were unsurprisingly hypercritical of the situation and pounced on the chance to fault Baldelli and his "quick hook."
Ryan began his Game 4 start against the defending World Series champion Houston Astros by getting second baseman Jose Altuve to ground to Twins' shortstop Carlos Correa on one pitch, third baseman Alex Bregman to fly out to centerfielder Michael A. Taylor, and the ever-daunting left fielder Yordan Alvarez to fly out to left fielder Willi Castro.
Ryan looked effective, and there was no reason to doubt he would return for the second inning to face the Astros four, five, and six hitters. The Twins used three of their middle-to-high leverage relievers in Emilio Pagán, Kenta Maeda, and Griffin Jax the game before, and with Ryan mowing through the first three hitters, there was no reason not to attempt to get as much quality usage out of Ryan as possible.
Twins third baseman Royce Lewis hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first, and the crowd at Target Field lit up. Everything was looking up for the Twins in the do-or-die Game 4, and Ryan came back out the bottom of the second holding a 1-0 lead.
Ryan got Astros star right fielder Kyle Tucker to strike out, and Target Field exploded. Ryan was dealing, and many started wondering if this was the beginning of another Pablo López-esque style start that could help the Twins survive Game 4 and present them the favorable opportunity of facing the Astros in Houston with López on the mound for a win-or-go-home Game 5.
Then, Astros left fielder Michael Brantley hit a 399-foot home run to deep right-center field, and the game was tied 1-1. Ryan, who sported a 20.5% home run to fly ball ratio (HR/FB) since the All-Star Break, gave up yet another home run, and all the momentum the Twins had, if you believe in such a thing, had dissipated.
Brantley's home run was followed by a relatively innocent infield single by Astros centerfielder Chas McCormick, and many began to worry if Ryan, like he did many times after straining his left groin while warming up to face the Atlanta Braves on June 27, was going to implode.
Luckily, McCormick's infield single was followed by Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena ground into a fielder's choice to his predecessor Correa, and the Twins were able to get by unscathed and remained tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the second.
Shortly after Ryan and the Twins entered the dugout, Twins reporters noted that reliever Brock Stewart was warming up in the bullpen. Soon after this was announced, FOX Sports cameras spotted Baldelli shaking Ryan's hand in the dugout, all but confirming his departure from the tied game.
Stewart entered the game for the Twins at the top of the third inning, and Ryan's night was officially done after just 26 pitches.
Admittedly, getting taken out of the game after throwing just 26 pitches and giving up one run would be a peculiar move to make by a manager in a traditional start. Emphasis on "traditional." Game 4 of the ALDS, where your team is down 1-2 in a five-game series, is in no way a traditional start. It would have been negligent for Baldelli and the Twins to treat it like one.
López, Gray, and Ober were all unavailable, as they had all made a start or pitched in the previous four days, so the Twins' only options were to either start Ryan or have a pure bullpen game where Maeda, Chris Paddack, or Louie Varland could have started.
The Twins elected to start Ryan and shift to a bullpen game after just two innings, so it was functionally the same thing.
As noted earlier, Ryan has struggled since straining his left groin before his start against the Atlanta Braves on June 27. Going into the playoffs, I believed that Ryan had solidified himself as the Twins' third starting pitcher, but I was still cautious about his ability to perform at the level he had been before June 27.
To add context, here are Ryan's numbers since returning from the 15-day IL on August 26:
- 4.79 ERA, 4.13 FIP, 3.57 xFIP, .345 BABIP, 1.77 HR/9, 16.3% HR/FB, 32.3% GB%, 75.3% LOB%, 149 TBF, 35 2/3 IP, 37 hits allowed, 19 earned runs allowed, seven home runs given up, nine walks, and 45 strikeouts.
None of these statistics are particularly inspiring, but what stands out the most is Ryan's 1.77 HR/9 and 16.3% HR/FB. When Ryan was pitching injured from June 27 to July 31, he had a 4.13 HR/9 and 31% HR/FB, so he significantly improved his performance during the seven-game stretch from August 26-September 29, but he was underperforming nonetheless.
To put Ryan's post-15-day IL stint performance into perspective, Fangraph deems any HR/FB of 13% or higher as "Awful," and Ryan had an HR/FB of 16.3%. So, despite the vast improvement, Ryan still gave up an awfully high amount of home runs.
After Ryan gave up yet another home run to the Houston Astros before getting through their lineup just once, it is no surprise Baldelli and the Twins elected to take him out of the game after the conclusion of the second inning.
Reliever Caleb Thielbar eventually gave up a two-run home run to Astros first baseman Jose Abreu in the top of the fourth, propelling the Astros to a 3-1 lead. The Astros held their lead, and the Twins eventually lost 3-2 and were eliminated from playoff contention, ending what was the Twins' best overall season since 2002.
Though the Twins ended up losing and getting eliminated from playoff contention, their bullpen medley concocted of Stewart, Thielbar, Paddack, Jax, and Jhoan Duran gave up only two runs through seven innings pitched in a stellar performance.
The Twins electing to go with what was functionally a bullpen game in Game 4 isn't what led to their demise. Instead, it was the Twins' four through nine hitters that went a combined 0-19 that let them down in the end.
Pulling the home-run-prone Ryan was the correct decision for Baldelli and the Twins, and the bullpen's stellar performance is evidence.
What do you think of the Twins pulling Ryan after the second inning? Was it the correct decision? Comment below.
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