Royals 11, Twins 2: Another Awful Experience, Royals Throttle Ryan and the Twins – Twins

Box Score
SP: Joe Ryan 2.0 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K (62 pitches, 33 strikes (53%))
Home Runs: N/A
Bottom 3 WPA: Ryan (-.327), Thomas Hatch (-.119), Trevor Larnach (-.056)

Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) 

The Twins have been a Major League-worst 15-30 since the All-Star Break. The only bright spot in that time frame has been the shine on their All-Star starter Joe Ryan and his experience. Even the light from his four wins since the break has been dimmed by three rough losses to the Nationals, Athletics, and Blue Jays. With the Twins still looking for their first win in September, what kind of experience were Twins fans in for tonight as they faced a Kansas City squad still in the hunt for a wild card spot?

Rough From the Get-Go
The Royals sent righty Stephen Kolek to the mound in his third start since being acquired from the Padres at the trade deadline. Weak contact is his game, and the Twins obliged with nothing but weak grounders in the top of the first. Ryan took the mound having been sick for the majority of the week. By the end of the first inning most people involved with the Twins were also ill. 

Ryan came into the game riding a historic WHIP season, but he walked Mike Yastrzemski to start the game. Next man up was Maikel Garcia, and after starting Garcia off with a strike, Ryan threw strike two only to have the home plate umpire fail to identify a center-cut fastball as a strike. Ryan was visibly frustrated and eventually walked Garcia as well. Vinnie Pasquantino smoked a double over Matt Wallner‘s head to score Yastrzemski, and immediately Ryan and the Twins were reeling. Then the ageless Salvador Perez stepped to the plate, and one pitch later the score was 4-0 Royals.

Perez’s homer was soul-crushing, but Ryan’s third walk of the inning to Adam Frazier was just as painful because Nick Loftin split the gap in left-center to send Frazier all the way home from first to make it 5-0 before Ryan could get his team back into the dugout.

Byron Buxton is Still Amazing
The Twins offense has continued to flounder as the season winds to a close, but the Buck Truck continues to do everything that he can to keep Twins fans from tuning out completely. After James Outman doubled to lead off the top of the second inning, Buxton fell behind 0-2 before timing up a fastball for his seventh triple of the year to put the Twins on the board.

A Luke Keaschall groundout scored Buxton, and suddenly the Twins weren’t completely out of it after all.

Completely Out of It
And then the Twins were completely out of it. Ryan labored through the second inning as well, allowing two runners to reach before escaping without surrendering a run. After two innings of work and only 62 pitches, Ryan’s night was done, and the Thomas Hatch Experience began. 

Hatch retired Jac Caglianone to start the bottom of the third, but the fact that Caglianone’s liner traveled at 115 mph should have been a warning sign. Loftin then singled and advanced to second on a groundout. With two outs, the floodgates of the Royals runs broke open yet again. Kyle Isbel doubled in Loftin. Yastrzemski walked. Then Garcia and Pasquantino both singled in a run of their own, to erase the Buxton momentum and expand the Royal lead back to 8-2.

While Kolek was quickly embarassing Twins hitters, the Royals kept abusing their former pitcher Hatch. This time Caglianone discovered that he could get a single up the third base line at 60 mph, and he then advanced to second base on a groundout. Hatch then helped make a memory for the Jensen family, as rookie Carter Jensen laced a double down the right field line for his first career MLB hit and RBI. 9-2 Royals, and the experience just kept getting worse for Twins fans.

It’s a Bad Experience
The Brooks Kriske Experience was next up for Twins fans, as he came on to relieve Hatch in the bottom of the sixth. Turns out the night’s experience was stuck on repeat. With one out, Kriske walked Adam Frazier, and then Caglianone singled again. Loftin doubled in Frazier, and advanced Caglianone to third. Jensen didn’t wait long to notch his second RBI, this time with a groundout to score Caglianone to make it 11-2 Royals.

The Twins tried to make some noise off of Kolek in the top of the seventh, as Edouard Julien and Mickey Gasper led the inning off with a couple of singles. With two on and nobody out, Kolek struck out Brooks Lee and Outman to bring up Buxton as the Twins’ last chance for hope on the evening.

After Kolek struck out Buxton, and embraced his HOF catcher on the way back to the dugout, one couldn’t help but compare the trade deadlines of the Royals and Twins, and sigh. The two teams were virtually dead even at the All-Star break, and then couldn’t have taken two more different trajectories since. The Royals ride the excitement of a playoff race to the end of the season, while the Twins have become the laughing stock of the major leagues. Tonight was just another night in September for many baseball fans, but what Twins fans experienced on September 6, 2025, no doubt left them seeking new experiences.

What’s Next?
The Twins look to avoid getting swept by a second AL Central opponent in a row in a Sunday matinee game. Twins RHP Bailey Ober (4-7, 5.23 ERA) looks to hold the tide against fellow giant RHP Michael Lorenzen (5-9, 4.54 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm CDT.

Postgame Interviews
Coming Soon…maybe?

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet