MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: After completing their six-game, seven-day homestand with a record of 2-4 (1-2 vs. the Giants and 1-2 vs. the Blue Jays), the Twins began their short three-game road trip in Houston with a win over the Astros yesterday…tonight, the Twins will play the second of three at Minute Maid Park…after the three-game series concludes tomorrow night, the Twins will travel back home for a quick four-game series/homestand against the Guardians from Thursday-Sunday…the Twins have gone 16-12 at Target Field and 12-14 on the road.
ROYCE MAKES HIS RETURN KNOWN: The Twins beat the Astros last night at Minute Maid Park by a score of 7-5 in 10 innings, making them 5-3 in extras this season…Royce Lewis, playing in his first game in exactly one year, had the game-tying RBI single with two outs in the top of the ninth inning as the Twins eventually earned their first victory this season when trailing after eight innings (1-23)…Sonny Gray was the starter, allowing three runs (2 earned) on four hits in a 6.0-inning no-decision…Jhoan Duran (1-1) earned the win with 2.0 scoreless innings, pitching the ninth and 10th, throwing 29 pitches…the offense recorded 14 hits, as Lewis hit a three-run jimmy jack…Ryan Jeffers hit the go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the 10th, a ball that registered at 117.4 mph exit velocity, the hardest-hit ball by a Twin in the Statcast Era (since 2015).
JOE CY-AN: Through 10 starts, Joe Ryan has gone 7-1, 2.21 ERA (61.0 IP, 15 ER) with 10 walks and 70 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .209 (48-for-230) batting average…below are his ranks among AL starting pitchers in a few notable categories:
ERA OPS SLG WHIP FIP WAR
Gray – 1.94 Ryan – .544 Gray – .287 Wells – 0.83 Gray – 2.13 Eovaldi – 2.8
McClanahan – 1.97 Gilbert – .555 Ohtani – .291 Gilbert – 0.92 Ryan – 2.32 Gray – 2.5
Rodriguez – 2.13 Rodriguez – .563 Ryan – .300 Ryan – 0.95 Gausman – 2.46 Gausman – 2.5
Ryan – 2.21 Ohtani – .564 Rodriguez – .311 Ohtani – 0.95 Eovaldi – 2.47 Ryan – 2.3
Valdez – 2.38 Gray – .576 Gilbert – .318 Rodriguez – 0.98 Gilbert – 2.72 Valdez – 2.2
FIRING UP SUMMER: With two games remaining in May, below are the hitting (top) and pitching (bottom) comparisons through the first two months of the season:
AVG R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K OBP SLG OPS
MAR./APR. .237 134 228 44 6 38 128 89 275 .310 .413 .723
MAY .228 113 197 39 1 36 106 105 273 .319 .401 .720
W L S IP H R ER HR BB K ERA BAA
MAR./APR. 17 12 9 258.2 216 108 100 27 76 285 3.48 .223
MAY 11 14 3 228.1 195 95 86 24 87 248 3.39 .229
ADDITIONALLY: Last June, the Twins hit .261 (252-for-967) with 51 doubles, 40 home runs, 134 runs scored, a .320 on-base percentage, a .450 slugging percentage and a .770 OPS…pitchers went 13-15, 4.18 ERA (247.1 IP, 115 ER) with 84 walks, 200 strikeouts and a .237 opponent batting average.
MAY IS FOR THE K’s: The Twins pitchers have 248 strikeouts this month, fourth most in May in club history with their most being 260 in 2019 (below)…their record for any month is 274, done in April.
YEAR K/9.0 STRIKEOUTS
2019 (29 games)………………………………………………….9.1 ………………………………………………………260
2022 (30 games)………………………………………………….8.6 ………………………………………………………256
2018 (28 games)………………………………………………….8.8 ………………………………………………………252
2023 (25 games) ………………………………………………..*9.8 ……………………………………………………..248
- indicates club record for May
SPACE CITY AND MINNY: The Twins and Astros are playing each other today for the fifth of six scheduled games in 2023…the Twins are 38-43 all-time against the Astros in the regular season, including a record of 27-34 since Houston joined the American League in 2013.
The Twins are 3-1 vs. Houston this season…one more win in this series and the Twins will secure the season series for the first time since 2021, when they went 4-3 vs. the Astros.
2022 and 2023 comparison vs. Houston in the right margin
THIS IS THE STORY OF A CHAMPION: Christian Vázquez will be receiving his 2022 World Series ring as part of a special pregame ceremony tonight with his family joining him on the field…it’s Vázquez’s second ring after winning the World Series with the 2018 Red Sox…Vázquez was acquired by the Astros at the 2022 deadline, in exchange for Wilyer Abreu and Enmanuel Valdez…he played in 35 games for the Astros, hitting .250 (26-for-104) with three doubles, one home run and 10 RBI.
He played in six Postseason games for the Astros, including two ALDS games vs. Seattle, one ALCS game vs. New York-AL and three World Series games vs. Philadelphia…hit .235 (4-for-17) with one walk and three RBI…went 2-for-7 with one RBI in three World Series games…he drove in two runs with a single in Game 3 of the ALCS at New York-AL…was behind the plate for the Astros’ combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the World Series, becoming the second catcher in MLB history to catch a no-hitter in the World Series, joining Yogi Berra, who caught Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. BBs FOR CC: Carlos Correa drew a walk yesterday and has now reached safely in each of his last 15 games, hitting .263 (15-for-57) in that span with a .391 on-base percentage (15 hits & 12 walks), six doubles, one home run, nine RBI and an .812 OPS…Correa’s current streak is his longest since reaching in 20-straight from September 13-October 3, 2022…his career long is 27, from June 10-July 15, 2017 with Houston.
Correa has drawn nine walks in his last seven games and 12 walks in his last 15 games, since May 10…since that date, his 12 walks are tied for fifth most in the AL.
SERIES STUFF: The Twins are seeking their eighth series victory this season and first since taking two of three from the Cubs from May 12-14…they entered this series having lost four-straight, their longest series loss streak since dropping five straight from April 8-28, 2021… they are 7-9-1 in series play this season, going 6-3-0 at home and 1-6-1 on the road (results to the right)…they are looking to win their first series over the Astros in Houston since taking three of four at Minute Maid Park from August 5-8, 2021.
OLIVAR SHOWS HIS MUSSEL: Low-A Fort Myers catcher/outfielder Ricardo Olivar has been named Florida State League Player of the Week for the week of May 22-28…in five games for the Mighty Mussels, Olivar hit .500 (9-for18) with two doubles, one home run, three RBI, three walks, a .571 on-base percentage, a .778 slugging percentage and a 1.349 OPS.
STARTING PITCHER – JOE RYAN 41
2023: 7-1, 2.21 ERA CAREER: 22-10, 3.26 ERA
Making his 11th start and appearance of 2023 and his seventh road start of the year…also his 43rd career start and appearance.
Facing Houston for second time this season, third time in career and first at Minute Maid Park; 1-1, 7.20 ERA (10.0 IP, 8 ER) with six walks and 13 strikeouts in two previous starts vs. the Astros.
Owns most strikeouts (251) and second-most wins (22) through a pitcher’s first 42 career games in Twins history (since 1961).
LEAGUE LEADER: Ryan enters today leading American League pitchers in several statistical cat- egories…here are his numbers through 10 starts and how they rank among qualified AL pitchers:
STATISTIC RYAN’S #’S AL RANK
Opponent OPS ………………………………………. .544 ……………………………………………………………. 1st
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio………………………….. 7.00 …………………………………………………………… 2nd
Wins………………………………………………………. 7 …………………………………………………………….T-2nd
WHIP……………………………………………………. 0.95 ……………………………………………………………. 3rd
WAR……………………………………………………… 2.3 …………………………………………………………….. 4th
ERA …………………………………………………….. 2.21 ……………………………………………………………..4th
Strikeouts………………………………………………. 70 …………………………………………………………… T-9th
LAST TIME OUT: Earned the win in the Twins 7-1 victory on May 24 vs. San Francisco at Target Field; pitched a season-low 5.0 innings, allowing one run on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts… pitched opposite of Anthony DeSclafani, who took the loss…allowed his only run in the second inning on an RBI single by third baseman Casey Schmitt…threw a season-high 107 pitches, tied with his only other career start vs. San Francisco on August 26, 2022 for the second most of his career, trailing only his 110 pitches at Los Angeles-NL on August 9, 2022…marked his shortest start since going 4.0 innings vs. Los Angeles-AL on September 24, 2022…received six runs of support and ranks tied for second in baseball this year with 56 total runs of support…Twins bullpen fired 4.0 scoreless innings as Minnesota salvaged the finale of the three-game series.
Has not allowed a home run in his last six starts, his longest streak without allowing a homer in his career…last allowed a homer in the sixth inning on April 19 at Boston to Kiké Hernández, logging 36.1 innings since the home run.
Snapped career-long streaks of seven-straight quality starts and 10-consecutive starts of 6.0-or-more innings…his nine-start stretch pitching 6.0-or-more innings in 2023 is tied with SF’s Logan Webb for the longest such streak in baseball this season.
TWO STARTS AGO: Recorded his seventh-straight quality start but did not factor into the decision in the Twins 5-4 loss against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium on May 19…pitched 6.0 innings, allowing three runs (2 earned) on seven hits, with one walk and nine strikeouts…allowed one run in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by outfielder Taylor Ward, scoring infielder Zach Neto…gave up two runs in the fourth inning, one on a RBI double from infielder Brandon Drury and one on a throwing error by catcher Ryan Jeffers…was relieved by Griffin Jax to start the seventh inning with the Twins leading 4-3; Jax allowed two runs in the inning and Minnesota did not score in the final two innings, dropping the series opener.
RYAN VS. HOUSTON: Tonight is Ryan’s third career start vs. the Astros…last faced Houston on April 8 at Target Field, earning the win in the Twins 9-6 victory; went 6.0 innings, allowing four runs on three hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts…allowed all four runs on a grand slam by designated hitter Yordan Alvarez in the third inning…his 10 strikeouts set his season high and were the second most in a start in his career to that point (11 at Chicago-NL on September 22, 2021); has since matched his 2023 season high twice (April 13 at New York-AL & May 13 vs. Chicago-NL)…lost his only other start against the Astros on May 10, 2022 at Target Field, a 5-0 Twins defeat (4.0 IP, 4 R/ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 3 K).
In seven career starts vs. American League West opponents (HOU – 2, SEA – 2, LAA – 2, TEX – 1), Ryan is 1-4, 5.40 ERA (35.0 IP, 21 ER) with 18 walks and 40 strikeouts; Twins have gone 2-5.
BUSY ROAD: Making his team-high seventh road start of the year tonight…is 3-1, 2.19 ERA (37.0 IP, 9 ER) with six walks and 39 strikeouts in his first six road starts this season…his 2.19 ERA on the road is fourth best in the American League (min. 4 GS)…Twins won his first three road starts of 2023, with Ryan going 3-0, 2.73 ERA (19.0 IP, 5 ER), but Minnesota has dropped each of his last three starts on the road, despite Ryan posting a 2.00 ERA (18.0 IP, 4 ER) with 20 strikeouts in those starts…he is undefeated in four starts at Target Field this year, going 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA (24.0 IP, 6 ER), four walks and 31 strikeouts.
Pitching at Minute Maid Park for the first time in his career tonight; will become the 14th ballpark he has appeared at since debuting in 2021…is 5-5, 4.79 ERA (67.2 IP, 36 ER) with 15 walks and 71 strikeouts in 13 previous starts at new ballparks.
Ryan has gone 11-5 with a 3.27 ERA (113.0 IP, 41 ER), 25 walks and 115 strikeouts in 20 career road starts…has similar numbers in 22 career home starts, going 11-5 with a 3.25 ERA (121.2 IP, 44 ER), 37 walks and 136 strikeouts.
LEFT/RIGHT: Left-handed hitters are batting just .198 (23-for-116) with a .528 OPS and 28 strikeouts against Ryan this year…his .528 opponent OPS against lefties ranks eighth in the American League this season (min. 30.0 IP)…right-handed hitters are hitting .219 (25-for-114) with a .559 OPS and 42 strikeouts…his .209 (48-for-230) overall opponent batting average in 2023 ranks 10th in the American League and 13th in baseball…over his career, Ryan has slightly better splits against left-handed hitters than righties, with lefties batting just .195 (84-for-430) with a .603 OPS since his debut in 2021…right-handed hitters are hitting .215 (95-for-441) with a .639 OPS off Ryan.
THE ARSENAL: Ryan has utilized a four-pitch mix in his first 10 starts of the 2023 season…has leaned on his four-seam fastball and split finger, combining to throw the two pitches 87.4 percent of the time this year…recorded all four strikeouts in his last start on May 24 vs. San Francisco with his four-seam fastball; also threw only three sweepers and did not throw a slider in his last outing.
HOUSTON ASTROS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT: The Astros and Twins will play the second game of their three-game series tonight with a pitching matchup of RHP Brandon Bielak opposite RHP Joe Ryan…despite yesterday’s high-scoring affair, this series is a matchup of the top two pitching staffs in the Majors, as the Astros enter tonight with the best team ERA in the Majors (3.21), while the Twins enter ranking second in that category (3.44).
ABOUT BIELAK: RHP Brandon Bielak is making his fifth turn in the rotation while subbing for the injured RHP José Urquidy… Bielak has allowed two-or-fewer earned runs in three of his four starts and is coming off the longest Major League start of his career on Wednesday at MIL (4ER/6.2IP)…Bielak has pitched in parts of the last four Major League seasons (2020- 23) with the Astros, making 50 appearances, including 12 starts…he began his 2023 season at Triple A Sugar Land, posting a 4.12 ERA (9ER/19.2IP) with 19 strikeouts and a .216 opponent batting average in five games (three starts) in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
RECENT ‘STROS: The Astros are 14-4 in their last 18 games to put them nine games above .500…within this run, the Astros are 6-1 at home and 8-3 on the road.
GRINDERS: Tonight is the fifth day in a streak of 17 consecutive days with a game for the Astros…prior to this week, the most days the Astros had played in a row was seven, a streak that opened the season from March 30-April 5.
THRU THE TURNSTILES: The Astros have sold out Minute Maid Park for nine of their 26 home games, including yesterday… the Astros have welcomed 967,459 fans to Minute Maid Park this season for an average of 37,209 fans per game, which puts them on pace to top the 3 million mark for the season.
VS. MINNESOTA: The Astros and Twins are seeing each other for the second and final time of the 2023 regular season… the Twins won the previous series, two game to one, in chilly Minnesota from April 7-9…tonight’s starter, RHP Brandon Bielak, was not in the Astros rotation during that series, but tomorrow’s starter RHP Hunter Brown tossed 7.0 innings of one-run ball in the Astros lone victory that series.
CONGRATS!: The Astros will present Twins C Christian Vázquez with his 2022 World Series Championship ring in a pregame ceremony tonight…Vazquez spent the final two months of the 2022 season in Houston after being acquired at the trade dead- line from Boston…he had his moments in Houston, including catching Game 4 of the World Series, the historic combined no-hitter, and tacking on four postseason hits and three RBI.
MEMORIAL DAY RECAP: The Astros dropped a Memorial Day matchup with the Twins yesterday by a score of 7-5 in 10 innings…Minnesota jumped out early to a 4-1 lead, which was erased by a 7th-inning grand slam by 2B Jose Altuve, which gave the Astros a 5-4 lead…unfortunately for Houston, their bullpen couldn’t hold as the Twins battled back for a run in the 9th and another two in the 10th…with the loss, the Astros dropped to 0-3 in extra-inning games this season.
LUCKY SEVENS: The Astros hit seven homers on Sunday at OAK, which tied the club record…they also hit seven homers on Sept. 9, 2000 at CHC and on Sept. 9, 2019 vs. OAK…incredibly, in the 55-year history of the Oakland Coliseum, this marked the first seven-homer game by a team in stadium history.
PITCHING IN: The Astros have the lowest team ERA (3.21) and have allowed the fewest runs (188) in the Majors…the Astros starters rank third the Majors in ERA (3.28) and have allowed one-or-fewer earned runs in seven of their last 10 games… also, the Astros bullpen ranks third in the Majors in ERA (3.08).
Lowest Team ERA – MLB Runs Allowed – MLB
- Houston: 3.21 1. Houston: 188
- Minnesota: 3.44 2. Minnesota: 203
- Seattle: 3.63 3. Texas: 206
HECTOR’S HOT STREAK: RHP Hector Neris has not allowed a run in his last 17 appearances (15.1IP), which ranks as the longest scoreless appearance and innings streak of his career… the streak also ranks as the longest scoreless inning streak by an Astro this season and ranks as the longest active streak in the Majors.
BULLPEN WEAPON:RHP Phil Maton has been outstanding this season, allowing just 11 hits and two runs in his first 22 appearances (25.1 IP) for a 0.71 ERA and a .129 (11×85) opponent average…among AL relievers, he ranks first in ERA (0.71), first in WHIP (0.51) and second in opponent avg. (.129)…among MLB relievers, Maton has posted the lowest WHIP and trails only RHP Devin Williams in ERA (0.54).
AMERICAN LEAGUE RANKINGS: Among AL players, LF Yordan Alvarez ranks second in RBI (48), tied for second in SLG (.598), tied for second in homers (14), third in OPS (.995) and fifth in OBP (.397)…3B Alex Bregman ranks tied for seventh in walks (28) and third in walk to strikeout ratio (1.17).
STUFF OF NIGHTMARES: LF Yordan Alvarez has been at his best in the big moments in his career, especially this season… he’s hitting .421 (16×38) with RISP, .500 (10×20) with RISP and two outs, .556 (5×9) with the bases loaded, and .385 (10×26) in close and late situations.
SALAMI SEASON: 2B Jose Altuve hit his seventh career grand slam yesterday which tied him with LF Carlos Lee atop the franchise leaderboard in grand slams…also, among active Astros, LF Yordan Alvarez and 3B Alex Bregman rank tied for ninth on that list with four grand slams apiece.
RBI IN ASTROS HISTORY (1962-CURRENT)
- Jeff Bagwell 1,529 5. Bob Watson 782
- Craig Biggio 1,175 6. César Cedeño 778
- Lance Berkman 1,090 7. Jimmy Wynn 719
- José Cruz 942 8. Jose Altuve 702
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP BRANDON BIELAK
LAST START – 5/24 AT MIL: allowed 4 runs on 5 hits with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts in 6.2 innings…set a single game career-high in innings (6.2)…allowed 2 of his 4 runs in the 7th inning.
SLIDE PIECE: is generating a career-best 45.2 whiff percentage with his slider this season, which is the higest whiff percentage of any pitch throughout his career…his slider accounts for 20.2 percent of his pitches this season.
WHAT A RELIEF: came on in relief on May 1 vs. SF after RHP Luis Garcia was removed in the 1st inning after 8 pitches…matched his career-high with 6 strikeouts, tossing 4.0 IP and allowing 2 runs, 2 hits and 3 walks… was the longest relief outing from an Astros pitcher this season and was the longest from an Astros pitcher since RHP Peter Solomon on 9/29/21 vs. AZ….had been recalled earlier in the day following the placement of RHP José Urquidy on the 15-day IL.
BACK IN THE BIGS: is making his first stint in the Majors this season and has appeared at the MLB level in each of the last 4 seasons (all with the Astros)… has settled into a starting role this season after serving in a hybrid starter-relief role through the first 3 seasons of his career…prior to his start on May 1, he had not made a start at the Major League level since 9/24/21 at OAK.
STARTER VS. RELIEVER: will be making his 13th career start in what is his 51st career MLB appearance…has gone 2-5 with a 5.18 ERA (28ER/48.2IP) as a starter vs. going 5-4 with a 4.56 ERA (36ER/71.0IP) as a reliever…of his 38 appearances as a reliever, has tossed at least 2.0 IP on 18 occasions…is set to make his 5th start of the year, with his career high for starts in a season at 6 games, which he accomplished in 2020.
