Ryan's strong start, Correa's hot bat help Twins beat A's in series opener

Ryan pitched seven strong innings and Correa drove in three runs in the Twins' victory.

Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan (41) pitches against the Oakland Athletics in the first inning at Target Field in Minneapolis on June 13, 2024. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Joe Ryan pitched seven strong innings and Carlos Correa had another dominant day at the plate as the Twins beat the Oakland Athletics 6-2 in their series opener in front of an announced crowd of 23,229 on "Prince Night" Thursday night at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. 

The Twins were clinging to a 4-2 lead until Correa hit a two-run shot 394 feet into left field in the seventh inning to provide a couple insurance runs and put a stamp on another impressive day.

After setting a career high in hits while going 5 for 6 with an RBI on Wednesday, Correa followed up with a performance in which he went 3 for 4 with the homer, three RBIs and two runs scored.

"He's really locked in though right now," Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said of Correa. "Really good players like that, they kind of get used to doing things like this."

After posting a season-high 24 hits Wednesday, the Twins as a whole racked up another 13 Thursday.

Ryan, meanwhile, had only one blemish during his seven-inning start. That came during the second inning when he issued a leadoff walk to Miguel Andujar, then surrendered a 431-foot homer to Tyler Soderstrom that gave the Athletics (26-45) a 2-0 lead. But Ryan was lights out after that. 

Ryan only allowed two more hits the rest of the way, holding the Athletics to the two runs off three hits in all while fanning five across his seven innings of work as he picked up the win. Luis Medina took the loss after allowing four runs off eight hits while fanning three across his five innings for the A's.

Though Ryan said postgame he wasn't feeling the best physically, he still turned in a dominant start and set a new career high when he delivered a 97 mph fastball during the first inning.

"I didn't feel great last start either, so I think I hit the highest then, too, which I was definitely surprised about. So after that, I was just like, anything can happen. But yeah, I think going deeper into the ballgame was more important," Ryan said. "I'll be happy with that."

Baldelli described Ryan's start as "pretty dominant."

After Soderstrom's homer, the Twins (37-32) knotted the game right back up in the bottom of the second inning. Max Kepler and Correa hit back-to-back singles to open the frame, and after Carlos Santana flied out, Byron Buxton hit a single to center field that scored both Kepler and Correa.

Buxton went 3 for 3 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Correa then drove in the go-ahead run his next at-bat during the third inning, hitting a single to right field that scored Trevor Larnach, who singled a couple at-bats earlier in the frame, making it 3-2.

The Twins added another run onto their lead during the fourth inning when Buxton and Ryan Jeffers opened the frame with back-to-back singles, and Austin Martin — called back up on Thursday after a stint with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints — brought in Buxton with an RBI fielder's choice.

Martin went 2 for 4 with the RBI in his first game back with the Twins.

Griffin Jax pitched a scoreless eighth inning to preserve the Twins' advantage, and Jorge Alcala sent the Athletics down in order in the ninth inning to close out the game for the Twins.

The Twins and Athletics meet for the second of their four-game series Friday night at 7:10 p.m.