Braves bomb Joe Ryan as atrocious offense plagues Twins

Homer. Triple. Homer. Strikeout. Homer. 

That’s how Tuesday night started for Twins right-hander Joe Ryan against the Atlanta Braves, and the onslaught continued in the second inning as Ryan gave up back-to-back homers to Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuna Jr., who also homered on Ryan’s first pitch of the game, and Atlanta went on to beat the Twins 6-2. 

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— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 27, 2023

After the Braves slugged five homers in 10 at-bats to start the game, they didn’t score the rest of the night. But the parade of homers was more than enough to outscore Minnesota’s meager offense, which tallied three for fewer runs for the 38th time in 81 games this season. 

The Twins went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and they left nine runners on base. Here’s a recap of the missed opportunities. 

In the second inning, Joey Gallo singled and reached third on two Atlanta errors. But Christian Vazquez struck out and Michael A. Taylor popped out to strand Gallo at third. 

In the third inning, the Twins had runners at first and second with one out and failed to score thanks to a pop out by Byron Buxton and a ground out off the bat of Max Kepler. 

In the fourth inning, the Twins loaded the bases with one out and got just one run out of it, with Carlos Correa striking out to end the inning and runners at second and third. 

In the sixth inning, Royce Lewis led off with a hit-by-pitch only to see Gallo fly out and Vazquez ground into an inning-ending double play. 

In the seventh inning, Taylor led off with a double and Eddy Julien walked only to have Correa hit into a double play and Alex Kirilloff fly out to end the inning. 

Up next: Twins at Braves, Wednesday at 11:20 a.m. CT.