The good news: Pitcher Joe Ryan can still get guys out as he fanned seven in his return to the mound from the injured list on Monday.
The bad news: Ryan coughed up three early runs (two earned) and the Twins never fully recovered in a 5-4 loss to the Tigers in Game 1 of a new series against Detroit.
And the really bad news: The Twins keep losing. Although they won a series over Motown last week, they lost two of three games to the front-running Chicago White Sox over the weekend and now are not off to a good start in the Motor City.
Dean Kremer gets the ball Tuesday.
Extra innings…
–There are 18 games left in the 2026 season.
–The Twins are 68-76, now 7.5 games back of the division-leading South Siders and 4.5 games back in the wild card race.
–It doesn’t get any easier for the Twins. After the road series in Detroit, the Twins come home to face the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees.
–Trevor Larnach had two hits on Monday, including a home run, scored two runs and drove in one more.
–Rookie power: Kaelen Culpepper had two more hits in the loss and is now slashing .305/.356/.453 across 26 games this season, while fellow rookie Walker Jenkins cracked an RBI double in the sixth inning.
–Ryan’s line: Three runs allowed (two earned) on three hits, including a home run, with a walk and seven whiffs. He falls to 6-9 with a 3.68 ERA.
–Twins radio guys Kris Atteberry and Paul Molitor were singing the praises of rookie pitcher Connor Prielipp when he served up a dinger to the Tigers’ Riley Greene.
–I’m not sure I share their view of Prielipp just yet, but I guess he pitched OK, allowing two runs on five hits in long relief of Ryan. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five.
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