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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Minnesota’s starters collectively had a poor offensive night Tuesday, yet the Lynx bench almost rescued the team.

Starting guard Courtney Williams overcame a slow start to finish with a team-high 17 points, and Natisha Hiedeman added 16 off the bench. But the Lynx fell 85-75 to the Liberty in New York.

Lynx reserves outscored the starters 38-37 with DiJonai Carrington and Maria Kliundikova each adding 11 points. None of Minnesota’s other four starters had more than six points.

Jessica Shepard had 10 rebounds and Alanna Smith had nine rebounds plus two blocks to set a franchise record with 69 this season, surpassing the 68 by Vanessa Hayden in 2005.

The league leader in assists at 23.4 per game, the Lynx had a season-low 10 on their 29 baskets. Minnesota was just 6 of 22 (27.3%) on 3-point tries. It leads the WNBA at 36.7% from deep.

“I didn’t think we had the recognition as far as some of their pressure points, getting rid of it quick, getting pass-pass combos. We were one pass and try to make something happen, so we were a little impatient. It’s not like us,” said coach Cheryl Reeve.

All five New York starters ended with double figures, led by 22 from Jonquel Jones, who also grabbed 10 rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu had 17 points and 11 assists.

“Their starters played great, and ours did not,” said Reeve, whose team was down by 12 points early. “Courtney got going eventually, but she was a big part of why we didn’t get off to a very good start (zero points and two turnovers in the first quarter). Our bench came in and really kind of buoyed the ship for us.”

“Being a role player, there ain’t nothing wrong with that. You just got to take pride in what you’re doing. I think our team, especially the bench, takes great pride in what we do,” Hiedeman said.

Playing without Napheesa Collier (ankle) for the fifth straight game — although she was listed as “doubtful” vs. “out” — the Lynx saw their six-game winning streak come to an end and fell to the Liberty for the only time in four meetings this season.

The contest ends three consecutive games against New York in a 10-day span.

“We knew that they were going to come out, hit us in our mouth. We battled back,” Williams said.

Down by 12 midway through the third quarter, Williams drained a contested triple over Jones in the waning seconds of the frame to get the Lynx within 66-60.

Williams scored on a mid-range jumper with 4:06 left, and it was 77-72 Liberty. A 3-pointer by Hiedeman got the Lynx within 79-75 nearly two minutes later, but Minnesota did not score again.

Williams missed a pair of jumpers, looking skyward in disbelief after the second with 1:07 left. Ionescu grabbed an offensive rebound and completed a four-point play with 33.8 seconds left to ice the win.

This is the first game in a stretch where the Lynx play four games in six days in four different cities. Minnesota is at Atlanta on Thursday and Indiana on Friday before facing the Indiana Fever at Target Center on Sunday.

Sabrina Ionescu #20 of the New York Liberty reacts with Kennedy Burke #22 after scoring a three-point shot in the final minute of the game against the Minnesota Lynx at Barclays Center on Aug. 19, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. The Liberty won 85-75. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

With five candidates officially running and a little more than two months until Election Day, the race for St. Paul mayor is beginning in earnest.

Around a hundred supporters of Rep. Kaohly Her gathered at Lake Monster Brewing Company in St. Paul for a formal launch event for the state lawmaker’s mayoral campaign Monday night, including her current and former Democratic Farmer-Labor-House colleagues.

State Sen. John Hoffman, DFL-Champlin, and his wife, Yvette, who survived an attempted assassination at their home in June, have also endorsed Her. They didn’t attend the Monday launch but appeared in a video played at the event.

Many in attendance said they had voted for Mayor Melvin Carter in 2017 and again in 2021, but said a change of leadership is needed in City Hall. They pointed to public safety concerns, particularly along the Green Line light rail corridor on University Avenue, and development troubles in downtown St. Paul.

“I appreciate everything that Melvin has done, but after eight years, I think we need someone else with newer ideas, more energy,” said Peter Scott, of the Cathedral Hill neighborhood in St. Paul. “Having Kaohly come in after having worked in state government with that larger perspective — I think it would be very, very helpful for St Paul.”

Carter, who is seeking a third term in office, has pointed to dropping homicide and carjacking rates after the pandemic as a sign of improving conditions in the city, but many point to ongoing issues with addiction and homelessness along the Green Line as a sign of worsening conditions overall.

Scott and others said they hope fresh leadership might help address those problems, as well as rising property taxes, job growth and development challenges in districts like downtown. Scott pointed to the closure of downtown’s only grocery store earlier this year and the closure of the Midway Cub Foods as signs of the city’s struggles.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter

Carter seeks third term

Speaking with reporters after filing for his third term earlier this month, Carter said he’s been working with lawmakers and other local leaders about issues like road reconstruction, addressing a surge in copper wire theft from street lights and redeveloping the city’s struggling downtown.

“Obviously, there’s been a lot of global forces that we haven’t been able to hold off of St. Paul, whether that’s the challenges hitting every downtown (or) some of the results that still are lingering from the pandemic,” he said at the time, adding that he thinks the city is gaining “momentum” on issues like housing.

During his tenure, Cater has pursued a progressive agenda that has included medical debt forgiveness, college savings accounts for newborns, and a new sales tax to fund roads and parks.

Her has said that while she supports those policies, the city of St. Paul should focus on essential services.

“I don’t have a shiny new project that I want to put out there and tell you all look what I’m going to be doing, so that the national stage can look at us,” Her said in a speech at the event. “But what I do have is the grit, the determination, the skill and the ability to dig into doing city correctly.”

Besides friends, community members and former city leaders, former state Rep. Ryan Winkler, a Golden Valley DFLer now running for Hennepin County Attorney was present, as was Her’s current House colleague, Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee.

Other candidates

The three other candidates in the race besides Carter and Her include an engineer, a scientist and a local business owner.

Yan Chen is a biophysicist at the University of Minnesota who ran for St. Paul City Council Ward 1 in 2023.

North End resident and mechanical engineer Adam Dullinger is the most recent candidate to enter the race. He’s a political newcomer

Mike Hilborn runs a power washing, snowplowing and Christmas tree lighting business and ran as a Republican for downtown St. Paul’s state House district in 2024.

In a biography on his campaign website, he describes himself as “a father, an entrepreneur, a second-chance employer.”

Nonpartisan elections

Mayoral elections are nonpartisan, though they often draw strong party interest.

This year will be a little different, however: the St. Paul Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is not making any endorsements in the race as it works to rebuild itself.

This will be the last year a mayoral election happens in an odd-numbered year in St. Paul. In 2024, voters approved a measure to shift the election to even-numbered years when other major contests are on the ballot.

The mayor is typically elected to a four-year term. But because of the change, the next election will be in 2028. The winner of this year’s election will only serve a three-year term.

Under St. Paul’s ranked-choice voting system, voters can rank candidates in order of preference.

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The Twins’ trade deadline binge was an acknowledgement of reality: This team isn’t making the playoffs. But though there won’t be much need for scoreboard watching over the final six weeks of the season, there’s still plenty to pay attention to.

That being said, here are five storylines to watch during the season’s final six weeks:

What will injured starters do?

Simeon Woods Richardson, who is building back from a parasite, started a rehab game on Friday. Pablo López (teres major strain) is inching closer to a rehab assignment of his own. And David Festa (shoulder) is still hoping to return this year and “finish the season strong.”

Getting those three back, particularly the latter two, who have been sidelined for large periods of time with shoulder issues, will be important for the Twins over the next month and a half. And once they do come back, can they return to form?

López, out since early June, seems to be on track to return early next month.

“Utmost priority is definitely being able to walk into the offseason, full normal, full go,” he said. “But then the second most priority, for me, I want to squeeze as many starts as possible.”

Will we see Bradley, Abel?

Almost everyone the Twins acquired at the deadline — 10 players in all — began their tenure in their new organization in the minor leagues. The only one initially up with the Twins was outfielder Alan Roden, who suffered a season-ending thumb injury, leading the Twins to promote fellow outfielder James Outman, whom they acquired from Los Angeles.

The Twins have been opting for bullpen games while Taj Bradley and Mick Abel pitch at Triple-A. Bradley, who has more MLB experience of the two, had a strong first start with the St. Paul Saints but has given up 11 runs over his past two starts while Abel has made three solid starts, striking out 11 in his last outing.

Both seem likely to figure into their 2026 plans. But the question remains: When will they first pitch for the Twins?

Can Lee handle shortstop?

Brooks Lee was drafted as a shortstop and came through the minor league system at the position, but moved off of it upon reaching the major league level in favor for Carlos Correa. He would, from time to time, fill in there if Correa was hurt or needed a day off. But now with Correa out of the picture, Lee is getting an extended look there.

“Sometimes, especially at a demanding position, you can only come into your own when you’re actually able to play that position,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think he wants to show what he can do as a major league shortstop, and he’s doing it right now.”

Who will emerge in bullpen?

The Twins imploded their bullpen at the trade deadline, shipping off Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louie Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe, their top five relievers.

That leaves these next six weeks as virtually a tryout for next year’s bullpen with a mix of veterans and younger pitchers getting to pitch in important situations.

How will Buxton finish?

Byron Buxton has been providing a reason to tune in since the year started and if nothing else, the end to one of the best seasons of his career is worth watching over the next six weeks.

Buxton, who played in his 93rd game of the season Tuesday, is on track to eclipse 100 games for the second consecutive season and only the third time in his career. He has already driven in a career-high runs batted in (61 entering Tuesday) and is threatening his own home run high with 25, three off his career best.

How will he finish his season? It’s likely Buxton will receive some down-ballot Most Valuable Player votes come end of season.

“He’s having an all-star caliber season, but not just an all-star caliber season,” Baldelli said. “It’s like he’s an all-star amongst the all-stars.”

Ryan Jeffers #27 of the Minnesota Twins embraces Erasmo Ramírez #30 after the game against the Detroit Tigers at Target Field on Aug. 17, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Tigers 8-1. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

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