The Minnesota Twins came two outs within a combined no-hitter on Tuesday night, fueling a 6-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals and keeping pace with the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the American League Central.
Joe Ryan laid the groundwork for the night, tossing seven no-hit innings. The right-hander looked dominant on the mound issuing just a pair of walks and striking out nine batters, but his pitch count soared to 106 before he was taken out of the game.
After the game, Baldelli said he made the decision in part due to this weekend’s five-game series with the Guardians in Cleveland.
7⃣ no-hit innings ‼
Welcome to the Joe Ryan Experience. 😤 #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/wcYeNIfqyv
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) September 14, 2022
Interesting moment… pic.twitter.com/np0o0KrblA
— Jeff (@MNTwinsZealot) September 14, 2022
“The anxiety wasn’t really quite there just because looking at the situation, you want to let him keep going…but he also has to pitch for us in five days again in what’s hopefully going to be a very important situation for our team,” Baldelli said. “Just kind of balancing all of that, the decision was made to take him out of the game. I know that’s a hard decision to make but a hard decision to watch for everyone that’s pulling for our team too but at some point, you have to do what you think is right.”
The decision was greeted with boos but Jovani Moran completed a 1-2-3 inning to bring the no-hit bid into the ninth. Moran got the first out but issued a pair of walks before Bobby Witt Jr.’s double broke up the Twins’ bid for their first no-hitter since Francisco Liriano against the White Sox on May 3, 2011.
While the Twins got the job done on the mound, it took a team effort at the plate to dispatch the Royals. Carlos Correa drove in three runs and hit his 20th homer of the year in the fifth inning and Jose Miranda followed up a pair of RBI and his 15th home run to blow the game open in the fifth inning.
𝗠𝗜𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗔 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗛! 💥#MNTwins pic.twitter.com/nu6SvIQP35
— FanDuel Sports Network North (@FanDuelSN_NOR) September 14, 2022
Gio Urshela capped off the onslaught with home run in the sixth and the Twins enjoyed a comfortable victory to keep up with the Guardians.
After Cleveland’s victory over the Los Angeles Angels, the Twins remain five games out of first place in the American League Central. They’ll look to gain ground on Wednesday when Sonny Gray battles Zack Greinke.
