Through the opening weeks of the season, the Minnesota Twins have given their pitchers no margin for error. But on Thursday, Joe Ryan was up for the task, throwing six shutout innings in a 1-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals.
Twins starters came into Thursday’s game with a collective 3.11 ERA. That number ranked ninth in Major League Baseball and trailed the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, and Cleveland Guardians for fourth in the American League.
Ryan did his best to lower that number by shutting down the Royals lineup. The right-hander allowed two hits and struck out six batters during his latest outing, which also included 12 swings and misses on 85 pitches.
Ryan also got help from Nick Gordon. Gordon collected a pair of hits and preserved the shutout by throwing out Andrew Benintendi at home plate in the fourth inning.
WE SEE YOU, NICK GORDON đź‘€@FlashGThe3rd | #MNTWINS pic.twitter.com/R7MxXzrT1e
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While the Twins’ pitching has been a pleasant surprise, the lineup continues to struggle. After being shut out for the third time in the past seven games on Wednesday night, the Twins received some good news when Byron Buxton returned to the lineup.
Although the Twins had eight hits throughout the afternoon, they couldn’t string them together to start a rally. Minnesota hit into two double plays on Wednesday, giving them 15 on the season. That number temporarily ties the Chicago Cubs for the most in MLB and kept this game closer than it should have been.
The only offense the Twins could muster Miguel Sano’s sacrifice fly in the top of the second was the lone run of the game. With the Twins clinging to the one-run lead, Emilio Pagan earned Minnesota’s first save of the season to preserve the victory.
The Twins will head back home to begin a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox on Friday night. Bailey Ober (1-1, 3.27 ERA) will get the ball in the opener against Michael Kopech (0-0, 1.00 ERA).
