Joe Ryan picked up his first win of the season for the Twins on Wednesday night at Target Field, and he did it with flair.
Making his fifth start of the season, the 27-year-old right-hander struck out eight over six innings as the Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 before an announced crowd of 12,546.
The Twins go for a sweep of the four-game series on Thursday afternoon before beginning a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday.
Ryan (1-1) recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts on April 13, a no-decision against Detroit, when he allowed three runs in six innings of work. He entered Wednesday’s game with a strikeout rate of 11.91 per nine innings, second in the American League to his opponent on the mound, the White Sox’s Garrett Crochet.
The Twins set a season high with 13 hits.
Ryan was staked to a 4-0 lead in the second inning. After Christian Vazquez brought in a run on an RBI single to right, Willi Castro lined a three-run home run into the left-field stands.
Carlos Santana #30 of the Minnesota Twins scores a run at home plate against Korey Lee #26 of the Chicago White Sox on an RBI single by Christian Vázquez #8 of the Minnesota Twins in the second inning at Target Field on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 in Minneapolis. (David Berding/Getty Images)
It was Castro’s second home run of the season, and it came on his 27th birthday.
Ryan retired the first six batters he faced, including the first three on strikeouts, before Kevin Pillar led off the third inning with a home run to left. One out later, White Sox catcher Korey Lee homered into the second deck in left to cut the Twins’ lead to 4-2.
The White Sox stole a run in the fifth inning to cut the Twins’ lead to 4-3. Braden Shewmake reached on a one-out bunt single and moved to second on a walk to Lee. Ryan then had Shewmake picked off second, but his throw to third was late.
Shewmake was then credited with a steal of home when Vazquez was unable to throw out Lee on a steal of second.
The Twins added to their two-run lead in the bottom of the fifth. Manny Margot led off the inning with a double, and two outs later, pinch-hitter Max Kepler drove him in on a bloop single to left.
Kepler moved to third on a single by Vazquez — his third hit of the game — and scored on a wild pitch.
Matt Bowman, Brock Stewart and Griffin Jax each followed Ryan with a shutout inning.
A series sweep would be a first for the Twins this season. They have been swept twice. Bailey Ober (1-1, 4.91 earned-run average) will pitch for the Twins against Michael Soroka (0-3, 7.50 ERA).
The White Sox (3-21), already guaranteed to lose their seventh series of the season, have lost six in a row and 10 of their last 11.
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