In the game thread, I mentioned that lately the Twins tend to either hit or pitch, never do both. Well, tonight they decided to neither.
All-Star Joe Ryan had his worst start of the season as he couldn’t find the strike zone in an out-of-character, walk-filled outing. After walking the first two batters of the game, an RBI double by Vinnie Pasquantino and three-run dong from Salvador Perez gave the Royals a 4-0 lead before Ryan recorded an out. KC made it a five run first when it was all said and done.
Ryan looked better in the second but was lifted after two innings and 62 pitches. He was apparently battling an illness and there’s no reason to put undue stress on your ace at this point of the season. Unfortunately, the Twins also only have 1.25 good relievers so this one was a wrap as soon as Ryan exited. Thomas Hatch and Brooks Kriske were on mop-up duty and both were bad, to varying degrees. Michael Tonkin pitched a clean ninth, so that’s something, I suppose.
Offensively, there just wasn’t much going on. The Twins added two runs in the third inning thanks to RBI knocks from their lone two good hitters (Byron Buxton and Luke Keaschall), but Royals starter Stephen Kolek did a good job scattering singles and limiting damage. At the end of the day, Minnesota went 1-9 with runners in scoring position and had just two extra base hits and two walks all night. Bad at-bats, bad approaches, and boring offense. Even when the Twins were in the playoff hunt, this was how the lineup was looking more often than not.
But hey! We get to watch Justin Jefferson play football on Monday. Skol!
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.twinkietown.com ’
