The Twins’ pitching staff has endured a relatively turbulent month of June. That’s been especially noticeable in the rotation, which has had a shaky month.
But not Joe Ryan.
Ryan, who has been the Twins’ most consistent starter this season, gave the team exactly what it needed on Wednesday night, throwing six scoreless innings in the Twins’ 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners at Target Field on Wednesday.
Ryan’s effort was badly needed and kept his team in the game on a quieter day for the offense. Within those six innings, he struck out Major League Baseball’s home run and RBI leader, Cal Raleigh, three times, catching him looking twice. Those three strikeouts came on a night in which Ryan recorded eight of them.
He negated a hit by pitch and a pair of errors behind him, allowed just three hits and did not see a runner reach third base in a dominant effort. With the performance, he lowered his ERA on the season to 2.86.
And he did so for a team that entered the day with a bloated collective ERA this month and was riding a five-game losing streak.
Ryan had limited run support in his start, but what he got ended up being just enough.
The Twins, who finished the day with just four hits of their own, finally got on the board in the sixth inning with a Willi Castro single, which brought home Byron Buxton. It was the only run the Twins would scratch across against Mariners starter George Kirby in his six innings of work.
An inning later, second baseman Kody Clemens gave the Twins a bit of breathing room, getting hold of a breaking ball and sending it out to left field. The opposite-field homer was his ninth of the season, a new career high for him.
That two-run lead was enough for Jhoan Duran, who responded to Tuesday’s effort in which he hit two batters and allowed the game-winning run in the ninth inning, with a perfect ninth inning on Wednesday. Louie Varland and Griffin Jax also threw scoreless innings in the Twins’ win.
Related Articles
Twins pitching staff searching for answers amid tough stretch
Twins battle back but fall yet again to Mariners
Report: Twins pick up option on manager Rocco Baldelli’s contract for 2026
Twins blown out yet again — this time by Mariners
Twins say selling at deadline ‘not at all our focus’
Leave a Reply