Twins starter Joe Ryan, who has pitched to a 3.60 ERA across 135 innings this season, fired one home in the third inning on Wednesday and immediately gestured to the dugout for help.
Something wasn’t right and he was gone, only to be followed by reliever Trevor Richards who was a mess.
Richards secured all of two outs in the inning but in the process walked five batters and allowed three runs. The bullpen was tagged for four more runs after that and the Twins lost to the Cubs, 8-2, a day after losing 7-3.
The early diagnosis on Ryan is that he has right triceps tightness, although it appeared to be much worse than that based on the way he reacted after throwing his final pitch.
The question now is: If the Twins lose Ryan for an extended period of time, who fills his spot in the rotation? Is it Josh Winder, who actually looked good in Wednesday’s loss, or Louie Varland or do the Twins lean on the bullpen?
I know who doesn’t get the job: Randy Dobnak. I think it’s pretty clear by now that the Dobber is not a major league pitcher. In three games since his return to the majors, Dobnak has racked up an earned run average of 9.64. Done, Dobber.
The timing of Ryan’s injury is also terrible because the Twins are off Thursday then welcome the Cleveland Guardians to Target Field for a key, four-game series, including a rare doubleheader on Friday.
A Game 1 starter has not been named by the Twins.
Extra innings…
-The Twins dropped two of three games to the Cubs, but they caught a break in the AL Central because the Guards have lost five straight, so they remain 3.5 games back of the division leaders.
-I was surfing You Tube videos the other night and came across Game 6 of the 1965 World Series between the Twins and Dodgers as covered by NBC and delivered by the legendary Vin Scully.
While watching the game, I was stunned to learn how big Metropolitan Stadium used to be. The dimensions: 344 feet to left, 330 feet to right, 365 feet in the power alleys and 430 feet to straightaway center. That’s a big ballpark.
In the series, the Twins won the first two games, lost the next three in Los Angeles, then came home for Game 6, the Twins’ Jim “Mudcat” Grant versus the Dodgers’ Claude Osteen on Oct. 13, 1965.
Pitching on two days’ rest, Grant delivered a Herculean performance. He pitched a complete game six-hitter and stroked a three-run bomb to force Game 7 with a 5-1 win.
Reaction from the Minneapolis Tribune, which played the story on the front page, above the fold.
“Jim Grant — paid to pitch, not to hit — drew a standing ovation from a record-setting crowd of 49,578 for his home-run hitting in the Twins’ 5-to-l victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday.
“Grant pitched a snazzy six-hitter to even the World Series at three games each.
“Now it’s a one-game showdown at 1 p.m. today and the Twins have the home field advantage at Metropolitan Stadium. So far the home team has won every game.”
Reaction from the Los Angeles Times, which buried the story in the sports section.
“Mudcat Grant, pitching with a bad cold and only two days’ rest, gave the Dodgers the ol’ Minnehaha Wednesday.
“Mudcat rubbed it in real good as his 5-1 triumph and his three-run homer left Los Angeles badly beaten and the series all tied up at three games all.
“The Twins needed this one for sure, because a fourth consecutive Dodger success would have brought sudden death to the American League champions.”
Sources: MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com, Newspapers.com