Joe Ryan exits with right triceps tightness as Twins fall to Cubs

Ryan signaled to the dugout and exited during the third inning Wednesday.

Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan (41) throws against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Aug. 7, 2024. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Ryan exited during the third inning with right triceps tightness and the Twins were out of sorts the rest of the way in an 8-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs Wednesday afternoon in Chicago. 

The Cubs won the final two to secure the series win after the Twins took the opener. 

With the Twins (63-50) up 2-1 in the top of the third inning, Ryan threw four pitches to Pete Crow-Armstrong before signaling to the dugout. He then exited the game after a meeting with Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and trainer Nick Paparesta and was replaced by Trevor Richards. 

The recently-acquired reliever took over in the emergency situation and things quickly went out of control. Richards gave up a single to Crow-Armstrong and walked Christian Bethancourt before getting Ian Happ to ground into a fielder’s choice. But he then issued back-to-back walks to Michael Busch, an Inver Grove Heights native, and Seiya Suzuki, the latter of which brought in the tying run. 

Isaac Paredes, one of the heroes of Tuesday night’s game, then drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to right field, and Busch later scored on a wild pitch from Richards. Then Richards issued back-to-back walks to Mike Tauchman and Nico Hoerner, his fourth and fifth walks of the game. 

That was it for Richards after giving up three runs, a hit and five walks in 2/3 innings as Cole Sands came on in relief and got Dansby Swanson to ground into fielder’s choice to end the marathon of a third inning. Sands did, however, give up a two-run homer to Happ during the fourth inning.

The Twins later revealed Ryan's exit was due to right triceps tightness. Baldelli told reporters postgame that "there's no latest (on Ryan) beyond what we already announced." Baldelli said he doesn't anticipate Ryan's injury being a "large-scale" issue but that "he's probably going to miss some time in some form or another." On Wednesday, it was all Cubs after Ryan's exit, an unexpected challenge that proved too difficult to overcome.

Matt Wallner's RBI double in the first inning put the Twins up 1-0. While the Cubs (57-60) were able to get that back on Busch’s solo homer in the bottom of the inning, the Twins put themselves back on top when Brooks Lee brought home Carlos Santana, who singled, with a groundout in the second.

But the Cubs went ahead for good with their three-run third inning, Happ provided some more cushion with his two-run homer in the fourth and Swanson and Bethancourt added a pair of insurance runs with an RBI single and an RBI double, respectively, in the eighth inning off Twins reliever Caleb Thielbar, not that the Cubs would end up needing them.

Josh Winder, who was called up on Monday when Steven Okert was placed on the bereavement list, was able to restore some order in the fifth and sixth innings, tossing a pair of 1-2-3 frames. Winder also pitched a shutout seventh inning, allowing just one hit while fanning three across three frames.

But the Twins offense couldn't get anything going, either, mustering just six hits while they were held scoreless after the second inning. They were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.

The Twins will now have a day off before their regroup for a potentially critical four-game series against the division-leading Cleveland Guardians at Target Field. That series kicks off with a doubleheader on Friday, with Game 1 slated for a 1:10 p.m. first pitch.