They might have “royal” in their name, but it’s Joe Ryan who reigns supreme over the division foe.
The Twins starter entered the day 7-0 with a 1.30 ERA in his career against the Kansas City Royals and while Ryan said he doesn’t really think about his history against an opponent, good or bad, it was more of the same for Ryan on Friday night. Ryan threw five innings of one-run ball in his start, and he had plenty of run support behind him as the Twins beat Kansas City 9-4 on Friday night at Target Field.
“Sometimes you go out there, you attack some hitters. Lineups stay the same over a period of time,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “You gain some real good confidence in what you have to do and how to make pitches against a certain group and then you can not only pitch well, but ride that confidence, whether you know it or not.”
Ryan gave up a leadoff home run to Mike Yastrzemski in the first inning on Friday as part of a prolonged first but then settled in nicely to finish off his start. His teammates, meanwhile, scored three runs in the first inning and another two in the second as they jumped out to a big lead early in what would become their third straight win.
The impressive start to Luke Keaschall’s major league career continued when he had RBI knocks in each of the first two innings. The second baseman has now reached safely in each of the first 10 games as major leaguer and has driven in 10 runs in his first 10 games, the most by a player in Twins’ history.
“He’s a good, natural hitter and that’s what it looks like,” Baldelli said. “He looks good.”
Matt Wallner and Kody Clemens hit home runs for the Twins, who finished the day with 14 hits. Ryan Jeffers had a team-high three of those hits. Jeffers, Clemens, Keaschall and Royce Lewis each drove in two runs.
Woods Richardson feeling better
Simeon Woods Richardson was upbeat and cheerful on Friday, a noticeable difference from just days earlier. Woods Richardson was dealing with what manager Rocco Baldelli described as a “stomach issue,” while the team was in Cleveland last weekend.
Unbeknownst to them, that stomach issue was actually a parasite. The starting pitcher was placed on the injured list and traveled back to Minneapolis, rather than to Detroit with his teammates, where he got the diagnosis. The parasite, he believes, came from something he ate.
But after getting treated earlier in the week, Woods Richardson has resumed throwing and is feeling good once again. He dropped some weight but it wasn’t “that much thankfully,” he said, and he is counting down the days until he’s able to return.
“We’re all back to normal,” Woods Richardson said. “I’m actually glad. Just knowing the fact of what it was, cause I’ve heard some cases where people don’t come out on the other side of that.”
López progressing
Pablo López will hit another milestone in his progression on Saturday.
The starting pitcher, who suffered a Grade-2 strain of his teres major in early June, threw twice off the mound while the team was on its last road trip. Saturday, he’s going to get off the mound for one up. He’ll throw his pregame bullpen and then come in and simulate throwing the first inning, throwing around 15 to 20 pitches.
“We’re getting to a point where we look at how I feel after every milestone and then we move,” López said. “I throw (Saturday), then my game day is five days from now. If I’m bouncing back well, if I’m recovering well, we move on to the next step five days later.”
The next step would be live batting practice and then eventually a rehab assignment. Crossing the finish line healthy is the starter’s first priority, but beyond that, the goal is to fit in as many starts as he possibly can towards the end of the season.
“If it’s five, I want it to be five and if there’s a chance at a sixth, I want to do a sixth as long as I’m honest with myself and the training staff like ‘Hey, I hit this mark and I’m feeling good,’” López said.
Briefly
Byron Buxton (rib inflammation) is getting closer to return, but he is “not quite there yet,” Baldelli said. Baldelli said he has yet to reach the point where he is fully able to do all of his baseball activity pain-free. “There are still things he needs to build up and be able to do at his normal, explosive level.” … First-round draft pick Marek Houston threw out a ceremonial first pitch on Friday.
Originally Published:
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