ANAHEIM -- It’s been a tale of two seasons for Twins ace Joe Ryan.
The 30-year-old right-hander posted a 2.85 ERA with 128 strikeouts in 20 first-half starts, earning his second consecutive All-Star nod. He backed it up by firing two strikeouts in a scoreless inning at the Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia.
But Ryan struggled out of the gate in the second half, surrendering a season-high eight runs -- and a franchise-record six home runs -- in a July 20 loss at Cleveland. He would go on to lose each of his next two starts -- both against the Royals -- before landing on the 15-day injured list on Aug. 7 (retroactive to Aug. 5) with a left glute strain.
Ryan returned exactly one month later and was his typically sharp self in an abbreviated start, striking out seven across four innings (66 pitches) on Sept. 7. But he took his fourth straight loss, and then a fifth last time out against Cleveland in another four-inning effort.
On Saturday, Ryan appeared to take a step in the right direction, as he struck out five Angels across five innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk. He surrendered a two-run shot to Jose Siri and also hit two batters. Still, he exited with a lead and was in line for his first win since July 5.
But it wasn’t to be. The Angels overcame a 5-2 deficit in the eighth inning to hand the Twins a 6-5 loss in 11 innings. The defeat made official what has felt inevitable for the past week or so, eliminating the Twins from postseason contention.
Los Angeles scored two in the eighth and one in the ninth to force extras. After Taylor Rogers worked around a jam in the 10th, a 101.5 mph comebacker from Christian Moore with two outs and the bases loaded in the 11th hit off Rogers’ leg and rolled away as the winning run scored.
“The story of the game is we did not capitalize on opportunities,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We had the ability to extend the game and we did not do that.”
Despite strong offensive showings from Ryan Kreidler (solo homer), Victor Caratini (two RBIs) and top prospect Walker Jenkins -- who tallied his third straight mutlihit game -- the Twins went 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position.
While Minnesota may not be playing for October, the seven remaining games this month are still plenty of time to look for positives and enter the offseason on a strong note. And that’s especially true for Ryan, who is likely to have one more start.
“I felt a little bit better this week, so just positive there,” Ryan said. “I was feeling good coming into the game, just missed a couple pitches.”
Ryan specifically mentioned hitting Wade Meckler on an 0-2 count in the first, and Siri’s two-run shot in the fourth.
“Definitely had to focus up a little bit more with guys on base,” he said. “The Siri one, executed the pitch and he beat me to the spot. I think just knowing the hitter a little bit, I think it could’ve gone a different direction. I think [Ryan Jeffers] called a great game, I liked where he was at, so not gonna second-guess that one. Just learning from those mistakes.”
Before the game, Shelton had noted how the monthlong absence was affecting his ace.
“I think it’s just working back and working through his delivery,” Shelton said. “Coming off the IL, he only had one rehab start, so the first one was kind of kicking the rust off. So I think that’s what we’ve seen.”
Ryan generated 18 whiffs on four different pitches on Saturday -- one shy of his season high, set on May 20 against Houston -- and his velocity was up nearly across the board. He maxed out at 95.8 mph and stranded runners on base in every inning.
“Just a couple lessons for the years to come,” he said. “Just kind of checking in on where the delivery is at and what the keys are there. ... I think when something’s nagging for a while and you’re going through it, it starts to build some bad patterns. So just being able to make that adjustment a little quicker, and everything else kind of comes off of just how the lower body’s feeling, so just making sure that’s in check.”