All-Star Joe Ryan stepped up on Sunday and did what ace pitchers are supposed to do: halt the losing streak by keeping the other team in check.
Ryan accomplished both and the Twins avoided being swept by the worst team in baseball, the Colorado Rockies, with a 7-1 victory.
Although the offense banged out 12 hits, including a half-dozen extra-base hits, Ryan was the center of attention. He allowed just a run on five hits across seven innings with no walks and 11 strikeouts on 88 pitches. He improves to 10-4 on the season with a 2.63 ERA. If Ryan has as strong a second half as the first half of the season, he will most definitely be part of the Cy Young award conversation in the American League.
However, a sweep of the Rockies would have been so much better because the Twins now head to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers. It’s David Festa vs. Shohei Ohtani. Hold on to your hats, Minnesota.
Extra innings…
–The Twins are 48-51.
–About the hit parade: Kody Clemens and Willi Castro both hit triples and the Twins connected for four dingers, getting two from Royce Lewis and a blast each from Matt Wallner, his 11th, and Harrison Bader, his 12th.
–Sunday’s game was played in two hours and 17 minutes. Good pitching will do that.
–Sunday’s attendance: 27,796. I don’t understand why the 24-75 Rockies continue to attract so many fans, but I guess it has something to do with the Coors Field fan experience. Either that or there are a lot of Twins fans in Denver.
–Ex-Twin Jose Berrios also won on Sunday, helping the Blue Jays edge the Giants, 8-6. Berrios is now 6-4 with a 3.87 ERA. The Blue Jays are tops in the American League East with a three-game lead over the New York Yankees.
–The Twins still have six games against the Yanks: three on the road in August and three at home in September.
–Reminder: The Twins end the regular season with a six-game road series versus the Rangers and Phillies. Tough.