MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: After completing their six-game homestand with a record of 4-2 (2-1 vs. San Diego and 2-1 vs. Chicago-NL), the Twins began their six-game, seven-day road-trip with a series loss at Dodger Stadium…tonight, the Twins will continue the trip with the first of three in Anaheim over the weekend…the Twins have gone 14-8 at Target Field and 10-12 on the road.
BASES LOADED, STILL A PROBLEM – ON BOTH SIDES: The Twins lost to the Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles by a score of 7-3, dropping the three-game series 2-1, making them 7-6-1 in series play, 1-5-1 on the road…Sonny Gray was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing two runs on five hits in 4.0 innings pitched…Emilio Pagán allowed five runs to score with two outs in the seventh inning, two of which were inherited from José De León…the dagger was a James Outman grand slam to centerfield…the offense recorded eight hits, including home runs from Byron Buxton (9) and Joey Gallo (10)…Minnesota was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and left the bases loaded with nobody out in the sixth inning.
TWINS ADD GARLICK: The Twins have placed utility player Nick Gordon on the 10-day Injured List with a right tibia fracture (retroactive to May 18)…Gordon, who sustained the injury after fouling a pitch off his leg in the fifth inning of Wednesday afternoon’s game at Dodger Stadium, played in 34 games for the Twins this season, hitting .176 (16-for-91) with five doubles, one triple, two home runs, seven RBI, 13 runs scored and one walk…to replace Gordon on the 26-man roster, the Twins have recalled outfielder Kyle Garlick from Triple-A St. Paul…Garlick, who will be making his second stint with the Twins this season, recently played in 18 games for the Saints, hitting .197 (13-for-66) with two doubles, one triple, three home runs, 10 RBI, 12 runs scored, 13 walks and a .329 on-base percentage…he played in three games for the Twins from April 13-19, going 1-for-7 with one home run.
TWINS-ANGELS: Tonight marks the first of six meetings with the Angels this season…after this weekend, the Twins will host the Angels for three from September 22-24…Twins went 2-4 vs. Los Angeles last season, going 1-2 at Angel Stadium (August 12-14) and 1-2 at Target Field (September 23-25).
Carlos Correa is hitting .302 (103-for-341) with 24 doubles, 17 home runs, 68 RBI, a .374 on-base percentage, a .522 slugging percentage and an .896 OPS in 91 career games against the Angels…the 68 RBI are his most vs. any opponent and the 17 home runs are his second most (Texas – 20)…additionally, his 68 RBI are tied for fifth most among actives.
Jorge Polanco made his major league debut in this ballpark as a 20-year-old, 10 days before his 21st birthday…he entered the game as a pinch hitter for Pedro Florimón, drew a walk against Ernesto Frieri and eventually scored…Twins first base coach Hank Conger was the starting catcher for the Angels in that game, going 0-for-4.
Angels manager Phil Nevin played 16 games for the AL Central Champion Twins in 2006… Nevin was acquired by the Twins via trade with Chicago-NL (for RHP Adam Harben) at the trade waiver deadline on August 31 and hit .190 (8-for-42) with one double, one home run, four RBI, 10 walks and a .340 on-base percentage down the stretch.
WEST FRIENDS: The Twins are playing an AL West opponent for just the second time this season…their only series vs. this division was a three-gamer vs. Houston at Target Field to open the home portion of their 2023 schedule from April 7-9, taking two of three…the Twins went 13-19 vs. the AL West last season, going 0-6 vs. Houston, 2-4 vs. Los Angeles, 5-1 vs. Oakland, 4-3 vs. Seattle and 2-5 vs. Texas.
JOE CY-AN: Through eight starts, Joe Ryan has gone 6-1, 2.16 ERA (50.0 IP, 12 ER) with seven walks and 57 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .190 (35-for-184) batting average… below are his ranks among AL starting pitchers in a few notable categories:
ERA OPS SLG WHIP FIP WAR
Gray – 1.64 Ryan – .507 Gray – .282 Wells – 0.79 Gray – 2.01 Eovaldi – 2.3
Cole – 2.01 Rodriguez – .523 Ryan – .283 Ryan – 0.84 Gausman – 2.40 Gray – 2.2
Rodriguez – 2.06 Wells – .560 Rodriguez – .291 Rodriguez – 0.86 Eovaldi – 2.46 Gausman – 2.1
Ryan – 2.16 Gray – .564 Ohtani – .307 Germán – 0.90 Ryan – 2.53 Ryan – 1.8
McClanahan – 2.34 Ohtani – .572 Cole – .309 Ohtani – 0.91 Kirby – 2.55 Cole – 1.8
OFFENSIVE COORDINATORS: After eight more hits on Wednesday afternoon, the Twins now have totaled 63 hits (13, 18, 13, 11, 8) in their last five games…below are the Twins first 39 games from March 30-May 12 and their last five games since Saturday:
AVG R/G H 2B HR RBI BB K OBP SLG OPS
FIRST 39 .218 4.2 281 58 47 157 131 367 .298 .381 .679
LAST 5 .317 8.6 63 14 13 41 19 55 .385 .583 .968
NOTE: Since Saturday, the Twins lead baseball in hits (63), batting average (.317), on-base (.385), slugging (.583) and OPS (.968).
BUCK TRUCK, U.S. TOUR: Byron Buxton homered in the three-game series finale at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday, marking just his second road homer of the season after hitting 13 last season…his final road homer of 2022 came in this ballpark on August 14, off Tucker Davidson…that homer was the final one in a stretch of 10-straight road series with a homer.
Buck finished the three-game series with the Dodgers hitting .385 (5-for-13) with two doubles, one home run, two RBI, two walks and two stolen bases.
HOOK, LINE AND DINGER: After hitting two home runs on Wednesday afternoon, the Twins have now hit 13 homers in their last five games… they have homered 60 times on the season, the third most in the AL and seventh most in baseball…50 of their home runs have come in their last 32 games since April 13…since that date only the Rays (57) have hit as many among AL teams.
KIRILLOFF THE HOOK: Since being recalled from Triple-A St. Paul on May 5, Alex Kirilloff has hit .333 (12-for-36) with six walks, a .455 on-base percentage and an 1.010 OPS in 11 games…in his last 21 games between Triple-A (April 18-May 4) and Minnesota (May 6-17), he has combined to hit .324 (24-for-74) with four doubles, five home runs, 15 RBI, 12 walks, a .444 on-base percentage and a 1.026 OPS.
THE LEFTORIUM: The Twins are scheduled to face back-to-back lefties in Anaheim, which will mark the first time facing two southpaws in a series since September 30-October 2, 2022 at Detroit (Tyler Alexander and Joey Wentz)…the last time they faced lefties in back-to-back games was September 24-25, 2022 vs. Los Angeles-AL (Reid Detmers and José Suárez)…tonight marks the ninth time Minnesota has faced a lefty, the previous eight being Jesús Luzardo on April 5 at Miami (5-2 loss), Nestor Cortes on April 14 at New York-AL (4-3 win), Chris Sale on April 18 at Boston (5-4 loss), Patrick Corbin on April 23 vs. Washington (3-1 win), Cortes again on April 25 (6-2 win), Logan Allen on May 6 at Cleveland (4-3 loss), Drew Smyly on May 12 vs. Chicago-NL (6-2 loss) and Clayton Kershaw on Tuesday (5-1 win)…the Twins have the fifth-fewest at-bats in baseball vs. left-handed pitching at just 317.
Twins are slashing .221/.290/.375 with 11 homers vs. lefties, compared to .234/.315/.417 with 49 homers vs. righties.
Jorge Polanco is hitting .350 (7-for-20) with a .950 OPS against left-handed pitching this season.
In his last 41 games against left-handed pitching (since August 9, 2022), Carlos Correa is hitting .313 (25-for-80) with six doubles, one triple, six home runs, 15 RBI, 13 walks, a .396 on-base percentage, a .638 slugging percentage and a 1.033 OPS.
STARTING PITCHER – JOE RYAN 41
2023: 6-1, 2.16 ERA CAREER: 21-10, 3.30 ERA
Making his ninth start and appearance of 2023 and his sixth road start of the year…also his 41st career start and appearance.
Facing Los Angeles-AL for the second time in his career…last faced September 24, 2022 at Target Field (ND; 4.0 IP, 3 R/ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 K).
Owns most strikeouts (238) and second-most wins (21) through a pitcher’s first 40 career games in Twins history (since 1961).
LAST TIME OUT: Earned his team-leading sixth win in the Twins 11-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on May 13 at Target Field…recorded his sixth-straight quality start, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings with four hits allowed, one walk and a season-high-tying 10 strikeouts…allowed four hits in the first three innings, then retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced from the top of the third inning through the top of the sixth…struck out six of the last nine hitters he faced, including striking out the side in his final inning of work…threw a season-high 102 pitches, his most in a game since throwing 106 pitches vs. Kansas City on September 13, 2022…recorded 10-or-more strikeouts for the fourth time in his career and the second time vs. the Cubs (career-high 11 K at Chicago-NL on September 22, 2021)…was relieved by Jovani Moran to begin the top of the seventh inning with Minnesota leading 7-0…received seven runs of support, bringing his season total
LAST TIME OUT: Earned his team-leading sixth win in the Twins 11-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs on May 13 at Target Field…recorded his sixth-straight quality start, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings with four hits allowed, one walk and a season-high-tying 10 strikeouts…allowed four hits in the first three innings, then retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced from the top of the third inning through the top of the sixth…struck out six of the last nine hitters he faced, including striking out the side in his final inning of work…threw a season-high 102 pitches, his most in a game since throwing 106 pitches vs. Kansas City on September 13, 2022…recorded 10-or-more strikeouts for the fourth time in his career and the second time vs. the Cubs (career-high 11 K at Chicago-NL on September 22, 2021)…was relieved by Jovani Moran to begin the top of the seventh inning with Minnesota leading 7-0…received seven runs of support, bringing his season total to 46 runs of support, third most in baseball…the Twins offense recorded 13 hits, including a season-high five home runs, as Moran and Cole Sands combined to hold the Cubs to one run over the final 3.0 innings to seal the win.
Has pitched 6.0-or-more innings in each of his last nine starts, dating back to September 30, 2022…marks the longest streak of Ryan’s career and the longest active streak in baseball.
Current streak of six-straight quality starts also marks the longest streak of his career and the longest by a Twin since José Berríos recorded seven-consecutive quality starts in 2019…Ryan’s streak is tied with Texas’s Nathan Eovaldi for the third longest in baseball this season, trailing only Houston’s Framber Valdez (7) and Seattle’s George Kirby (7).
Has not allowed a home run in his last four starts…matches his career-long streak of four games without allowing a homer, done twice previously (September 13-20, 2022; April 21-May 10, 2022)…last allowed a homer in the sixth inning on April 19 at Boston to Kiké Hernández.
TWO STARTS AGO: Took his first loss of the 2023 season and snapped his career-long streak of eight- consecutive winning decisions on May 7 at Cleveland in a 2-0 Twins defeat…pitched 6.0 innings, allowing two runs and a season-high eight hits with no walks and four strikeouts…allowed both runs in the first inning on four singles; infielder José Ramírez and designated hitter Josh Bell each recorded RBI singles against Ryan…retired 15 of 17 batters from the bottom of the first inning to the bottom of the sixth…stranded two runners in the sixth inning by striking out outfielder Will Brennan to end his outing…Emilio Pagán and Brock Stewart each recorded scoreless innings out of the Twins bullpen but Minnesota had only one hit against three Guardians pitchers in the shutout loss…marked Ryan’s first loss since September 7, 2022 at New York-AL.
41 THROUGH 40: Ryan made his 40th career appearance and start on May 13 vs. Chicago-NL, earning his 21st career win in the Twins 11-1 victory…here are Ryan’s career numbers and how they rank in Twins history (since 1961) through a pitcher’s first 40 career games:
STATISTIC RYAN’S #’S TWINS RANK
Strikeouts……………………………………………… 238 ……………………………………………………………. 1st
Wins……………………………………………………… 21 …………………………………………………………….. 2nd
Win Probability Added …………………………….. 2.4 ………………………………………………………………5th
Quality Starts…………………………………………. 19 ………………………………………………………….. T-6th
Innings Pitched……………………………………. 223.2 …………………………………………………………. 13th
VS. THE ANGELS: Tonight is Ryan’s second career start vs. Los Angeles-AL…previously faced the Angels on September 24, 2022 at Target Field, taking a no-decision in an 8-4 Twins win; pitched 4.0 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits, with three walks and five strikeouts…allowed RBI hits to centerfielder Mike Trout and designated hitter Shohei Ohtani…threw a season-low 69 pitches and was relieved by Griffin Jax to start the fifth inning…the start matched four others for the shortest outing of his career and marked the only start of those five that the Twins won.
In six career starts vs. American League West opponents (SEA – 2, HOU – 2, TEX – 1, LAA – 1), Ryan is 1-4, 5.90 ERA (29.0 IP, 19 ER) with 17 walks and 31 strikeouts.
SMOOTH ROAD: Making his team-high sixth road start of the season tonight…is 3-1, 2.03 ERA (31.0 IP, 7 ER) with five walks and 30 strikeouts in five road starts this year…his 2.03 ERA away from Target Field in 2023 is the fourth-best road ERA in baseball (min. 25.0 IP), behind only SF’s Anthony DeSclafani (1.75), TEX’s Nathan Eovaldi (1.83) and SEA’s George Kirby (1.95)…making his first career appearance and start at Angel Stadium, marking his 13th different ballpark in his career; is 5-5, 4.96 ERA (61.2 IP, 34 ER) with 14 walks and 62 strikeouts in 12 previous starts when pitching at a new venue.
Ryan has gone 11-5 with a 3.28 ERA (107.0 IP, 39 ER), 24 walks and 106 strikeouts in 19 career road starts…has similar numbers in 21 career home starts, going 10-5, 3.32 ERA (116.2 IP, 43 ER) with 35 walks and 132 strikeouts.
Seeking his first career win at a ballpark in the Pacific Time Zone tonight…is 0-3, 11.93 ERA (14.1 IP, 19 ER) with four walks and 14 strikeouts in three career starts on the West Coast (SEA – 1, SD – 1, LAD – 1).
LEFT (AND RIGHT) OUT IN THE COLD: Left-handed hitters are batting just .181 (17-for-94) with a .480 OPS against Ryan this year…right-handed hitters are hitting .200 (18-for-90) with a .534 OPS… his .190 overall opponent batting average ranks sixth among all qualified American League pitchers this season, trailing LAA’s Shohei Ohtani (.145), NYY’s Domingo Germán (.165), BAL’s Tyler Wells (.168), TOR’s Chris Bassitt (.175) and DET’s Eduardo Rodriguez (.186)…over his career, Ryan has slightly better splits against left-handed hitters than righties, with lefties batting just .191 with a .597 OPS since his debut in 2021…right-handed hitters are hitting .211 with a .638 OPS off Ryan.
THE ARSENAL: Ryan has utilized a four-pitch mix in his first eight starts of the 2023 season…has leaned on his four-seam fastball and split finger, combining to throw the two pitches 86.1 percent of the time this year; the fastball-split duo accounted for 90 of his 102 pitches (88.2 percent) in his last start on May 13 vs. Chicago-NL…opponents are batting just .190 (32-for-168) with 51 strikeouts against Ryan’s four-seamer and split finger combined…here’s a look at Ryan’s repertoire, per Baseball Savant:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (# OF PITCHES, VS. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
4-Seam Fastball (92.5)………….58.7% (430 pitches, 210/220).. .189 (20-for-106), 3 2B, 3 HR, 38 K
Split Finger (83.3)………………….27.4% (201 pitches, 71/130)…………. .194 (12-for-62), 2 2B, 13 K
Sweeper (78.7)…………………………8.6% (63 pitches, 52/11)………………………….. .143 (1-for-7), 2 K
Slider (82.8)……………………………..5.3% (39 pitches, 30/9)………………….. .250 (2-for-8), 1 HR, 3 K
Ryan’s four-seam fastball has accumulated a run value of -10 this season, the second-best run value on a four-seam fastball in the majors (min. 50 PA), trailing NYY’s Gerrit Cole (-11).
LOS ANGELES ANGELS NOTES:
LEADING OFF: Today, the Angels play the first of nine games on a homestand against the Minnesota Twins (May 19-21), Boston Red Sox (May 22-24) and Miami Marlins (May 26-28)…Halos went 3-4 on last road trip to Cleveland (1-2) and Baltimore (2-2)…LAA was 2-4 on last homestand against the Rangers (1-2) and Astros (1-2).
LONG HOMESTAND: The Angels current nine game (10-day) homestand is tied for the longest of the season…Halos will also host a nine game homestand immediately following the All-Star Break against the Astros (July 14-16), Yankees (July 17-19) and Pirates (July 21-23).
COUNTRY WEEKEND: This weekend is “Country Weekend” at the Big A…A postgame concert featuring Russell Dickerson will take place on the field following tomorrow night’s game.
BACK ABOVE .500: With a 23-22 record, Halos are back above the .500 mark on the season…LAA has been exactly .500 10 different times this season (1-1, 5-5, 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, 12-12, 14-14 & 22-22).
DINGER DUO: Yesterday was the 25th time that Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani homered in the same game… It’s the fourth highest total among duos in Angels history (club record is 48 games – Trout/Pujols).
LEAD ASSISTANT: Hunter Renfroe is tied for the American League lead with five outfield assists this season…Sine 2017, his 61 outfield assists lead the Majors (Starling Marte is second with 51 assists).
LEAD OFF MICK: Mickey Moniak has hit leadoff home runs in two of his four starts for the Angels this season…He’s one of seven players in the Majors with multiple leadoff HR this year…He celebrated his 25th birthday on Saturday and became the first player in MLB history to make his season debut on his birthday and hit a leadoff home run…Additionally, he was the first player in Angels history to hit a leadoff homer on his birthday.
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER SHO: Monday night, Shohei Ohtani became the first pitcher to reach base safely five times in a game since Mel Stottlemyre for the Yankees on Sept. 26, 1964 at Washington…He finished a double shy of becoming the first starting pitcher in MLB history to hit for the cycle.
MORE HISTORY: Shohei Ohtani reached the 400 career innings pitched threshold on Monday night… According to ELIAS, his 509 strikeouts in his first 400 innings as a starter are the second-most all-time (Corbin Burnes had 539 strikeouts through his first 400 IP for Milwaukee).
VS. MINNESOTA: Today is the first of six matchups this season between the Angels and Twins…In addition to the current series, the teams will meet again Sept. 22- 24 at Target Field…Last season, Halos went 4-2 against Minnesota to take the season series for a second consecutive year.
LEAGUE LEADER: Shohei Ohtani, leads the Majors in opponent batting average (.145), and ranks third in strikeouts (71) and sixth in WHIP (0.91).
PLAY FROM AHEAD: Halos have held leads in 37 of 45 games played this year.
SINGLE HANDED: Gio Urshela has hit 39 singles this year plus six extra-base hits (five doubles & one home run)…Urshela ranks second, behind Toronto’s Bo Bichette (42), for the American League lead in singles.
FRESH ARM: RHP Zack Weiss was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Sunday and is looking to make his season debut with the Angels…He has appeared in 10 \games for the Bees this season.
ESTÉVEZ ENDING: This season, Carlos Estévez is pitching to a 1.35 ERA (20 IP – 3 ER) and has converted all 10 of his save opportunities…He is the first Angels pitcher to convert his first 10 save opportunities of a season since Ernesto Frieri converted his first 12 chances in 2012.
WALSH ON REHAB: Jared Walsh (headaches and insomnia) has played six games on his rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake and is batting .500
(10/20) with eight runs scored, one double, one home run, five RBI, seven walks and a 1.343 OPS.
ALL OVER THE INFIELD: Gio Urshela is one of six players in the Majors to appear at all four infield positions this season…He has made 16 starts at first base, 13 starts at third base, eight at shortstop and one at second base.
LATE COMEBACKS: Halos have three wins this season when trailing after eight innings, which matches the Angels total from each of the last two seasons…Last time LAA had more than three wins in a season when trailing after eight frames was 2017 (5).
UNEARNED: Angels have allowed 26 unearned runs this season, which is the most in the Majors…Halos have committed 31 fielding errors this season, which is also the most in the Majors.
ON THE BOARD: Halos have not been shut out since Aug. 21, 2022 at Detroit…Current streak of 86 games without being shut out is the longest active streak in the Majors and fifth-longest streak in Angels history (fourth longest streak was 90 games in 1995).
NET-OW: Zack Neto has been hit by seven pitches this season, which is tied for fourth-most in the Majors… Since 1901, Neto’s seven HBP through his first 15 career games are the most in MLB…He also was the first player in Angels history to be hit a pitch in four consecutive games (April 18-21).
RED SOX ON DECK: Following the current series vs. Minnesota, the Angels will continue the homestand with a three game series against the Boston Red Sox… Angels went 1-3 against Boston during trip to Fenway earlier this season from April 14-17.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – LHP REID DETMERS
0-3, 4.89 ERA
Pitched 12th no-hitter in Angels history on May 10, 2022 vs. Tampa Bay
- TODAY’S GAME: Making eighth start of the season today and fourth at home…Made Opening Day roster for second consecutive season…Is in third Major League season with Angels.
- LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor in decision in last start on Saturday at Cleveland after tossing 5+ innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts…Began the outing with 5.0 scoreless frames…Exited the 6th inning after allowing a walk and an RBI double to open the frame…The bequeathed runner would ultimately score as well.
- END THE STREAK: Has taken the loss in each of last three decisions, which is longest streak of career.
- STAY UNFAMILIAR: This season, opponents are batting .243 (28/115) the first two times through the order, but are batting .458 (11/24) the third time through the batting order.
- EARLY SUCCESS: Has a 2.57 ERA (21 IP – 6 ER) in the first three innings of games, compared with an 8.36 ERA (14 IP – 13 ER) from the fourth inning on.
- GOING OFFSPEED: In 2023, is holding opponents to a .260 (25/96) average against off-speed pitches, but has a .326 (14/43) average against his fastball.
- VS. MINNESOTA: In two career games vs. Minnesota, is 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA (9 IP – 6 ER) and 11 strikeouts… Both starts came last season.
- AT ANGEL STADIUM: In 18 career games at Angel Stadium, is 5-5 with a 3.87 ERA (97.2 IP – 42 ER) and 94 strikeouts…This year, is 0-1 with a 5.52 ERA (14.2 IP – 9 ER) in three home starts…Last season, was 4-3 with a 3.22 ERA (72.2 IP – 26 ER) in 13 home starts, including no-hitter on May 10 vs. Rays (seventh individual no-hitter in Angel Stadium history).
