For the past two seasons, it has been a given that somehow, some way, Joe Ryan would find a way to get through five innings.
Save for the game last season in which he left with an injury, you would have to go back nearly two years — Sept. 12, 2023 — to find the last time the starter didn’t complete at least five innings.
So it was a rare occurrence to see Ryan forced out of Tuesday night’s game after just four innings in the Twins’ 6-3 loss to the Athletics in the series opener at Target Field.
“(It was) much shorter than I would have liked,” Ryan said. “That gets frustrating. Try to go out there and get some more innings.”
Ryan gave up five runs, marking just the third time this season that he has allowed more than four. Just two of them were earned, as he was plagued by his defense, particularly in the fourth inning.
Ryan served up a two-out, two-run home run to Shea Langeliers in the third right after issuing a four-pitch walk to Nick Kurtz, turning the Twins’ lead into a deficit, and then found himself in more trouble an inning later.
After Tyler Soderstrom began the inning with an infield single, second baseman Luke Keaschall could not handle a rocket hit toward him, which took a hop and wound up in the outfield. The next batter reached when first baseman Kody Clemens dropped a throw from Royce Lewis. He was charged with an error.
“We want to hold ourselves to a high standard, and we want to make all the plays for our pitchers,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think there were worlds where we work through that inning and they’re not putting those runs on the board, and then we’re right there in the game.”
The Athletics managed three runs from that opportunity, the first scoring on a shallow sacrifice fly hit to Keaschall, a play that he said he “should’ve thrown” the runner out on. Two more scored as Ryan gave up another pair of hits, allowing four total in the inning as his pitch count quickly climbed.
The Twins scored on a pair of solo home runs — Brooks Lee hit one in the fourth, Ryan Jeffers one an inning later — and a Matt Wallner double in the second inning. But they missed out on a chance to tie the game late with Lewis popping out in the bottom of the eighth with a pair of runners on.
“We could not sync those hits up enough tonight,” Baldelli said. “I think the at-bats were fine, but we certainly needed more on a day where we gave up a few.”
Briefly
The Twins promoted first-round draft pick Marek Houston on Monday to Class-A Advanced Cedar Rapids. The shortstop hit .370 with 20 hits in his first 12 professional games at Class A Fort Myers. … The Twins will send Bailey Ober to the mound Wednesday in the second game of the series. … Over in St. Paul, Connor Prielipp, one of the Twins’ top pitching prospects, gave up two runs in 3 1/3 innings in his Triple-A debut.
Minnesota Twins’ Byron Buxton (25) stands at the plate after striking out to end the bottom of the third inning of a baseball game against the Athletics Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
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