Twins take down Royals as Joe Ryan impresses

The Royals nearly came back from five runs down in the ninth innning.

May 5, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan (41) delivers a pitch against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports / Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

The Twins played eight great innings of baseball Monday, but a near blunder made things interesting in the ninth inning, resulting in a 6-5 final score.

Joe Ryan started on the bump for the Twins vs. the Royals for a Memorial Day matchup. He was dealing from the first pitch. The second batter he faced Bobby Witt Jr. singled, then he got through 14 straight Royals without allowing a walk or hit.

Minnesota was able to provide some run support in the bottom of the third inning when Jose Miranda hit his fifth home run of the season, driving in Edouard Julien, taking the first lead of the game 2-0.

The home run party picked up again in the bottom of the fifth inning when Trevor Larach launched a 441-foot missle, driving home Juien again and Willi Castro, extending the lead to 5-0.

Kansas City broke Joe Ryan's remarkable 14 retired-batter streak in the the sixth inning. The lead was narrowed to 5-1 after a Vinnie Pasquantino RBI single.

Griffin Jax relieved Ryan after he dealt seven innings, where he allowed only four hits and one earned run while recording nine strikeouts, his second most this season.

An Alex Kirilloff RBI single in the eighth inning extended the score to 6-1. Cole Sands came in to close out the game, but after a Hunter Renfroe RBI double, the Twins looked towards Jhoan Duran to finish things off. With a runner on second and third he hit the first batter he faced, loading the bases.

Then Kansas City found another run, shortening the lead to 6-3, as the bases remained loaded. Two more runs were scored, before Bobby Witt Jr. grounded out to Duran and the game ended 6-5.

The Twins move to 29-24 on the season and they will get back to work tomorrow night for a 6:40 P.M. local time start in game two of a four-game series vs. the Royals.