FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Twins confirmed their least surprising decision of the spring on Friday, announcing that Joe Ryan will start against the Orioles on Opening Day on Thursday in Baltimore.
It will be Ryan’s second Opening Day start and first since 2022 against the Mariners, which was the sixth start of his big league career. He was the obvious choice for Minnesota after Pablo López suffered a season-ending elbow injury early in camp, though his status was in question for a while after he suffered back inflammation early in camp.
Ryan is coming off a career year in which he made his first All-Star team and went 13-10 with a career-best 3.42 ERA, 194 strikeouts and 39 walks in a career-high 30 starts. The back issue sidelined him for 17 days, and the question of availability was really the only variable standing between Ryan and starting the opener.
Monday marked his second start since returning from that injury scare, and he looked much more like himself than in his spring debut. HIs fastball velocity ticked up and Ryan fanned six Pirates after recording no K's in his first start.