Twins’ ace pitcher gave KC Royals fits all night. Here’s what made him effective
The Kansas City Royals ran into an irresistible force on Wednesday night.
And it wasn’t pretty.
Joe Ryan, the Minnesota Twins’ starting pitcher, was nearly unhittable at Kauffman Stadium. He marched through the Royals’ lineup, surrendering just two hits along the way.
Ryan was efficient all night. He pitched to contact and struck out four batters in the Twins’ 4-0 victory. The Royals (6-6) managed just two baserunners and were 0-for-2 with men in scoring position.
“He was efficient for seven innings,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We had no answers for him.”
KC squandered its lone scoring opportunity, which came in the fourth inning. Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. led off with a double but failed to score when Salvador Perez hit into an inning-ending double play.
Witt attempted to steal third base on Perez fly ball to center field. When the ball was caught for an out, he tried to scurry back to second but was thrown out at the bag.
“I think we hit the ball pretty hard today, right at them,” Perez said. “Even myself, I hit it two times right at them.
“It’s part of the game. Just another game and today is over. Concentrate on tomorrow and try to win the series.”
The Twins (4-8) grabbed an early lead and never relinquished it. Minnesota added three more runs, including a pair of solo homers, to snap the Royals’ three-game winning streak.
Ryan kept the Royals off-balance with his four-seam fastball and splitter combination. Together, those two pitches registered 40 swings and eight whiffs as Ryan earned his first victory of the year.
“Everybody can see the numbers now and they can think we aren’t hitting really good right now,” Perez said. “It’s a long season, but we still hit the ball hard, you know?
“I think that’s the most important thing. Just hit the ball hard and see what happens after that. Control what we can control. Just prepare ourselves every day for the game, compete and see what happens after the last out.”
Ryan improved 7-0 with a 1.30 ERA in nine starts against the Royals. That’s the lowest earned-run average against KC, minimum nine starts, in club history. And his 0.90 ERA at Kauffman Stadium is the lowest by an opposing pitcher there.
“He’s going to challenge you and he pitches from both sides of the plate,” Quatraro said. “More than anything, it was the fastball with the low release and the good carry.”
The Royals will look to win the four-game series Thursday afternoon behind right-handed starting pitcher Michael Wacha.
Missed previous games of the series?
Game 1: Kyle Isbel propels Royals to series-opening win vs. Twins
Game 2: Bobby Witt Jr. dazzles with pure speed in Royals 2-1 victory
Here are more notable aspects of Wednesday’s game:
Seth Lugo keeps Royals in contention
Seth Lugo didn’t have much wiggle room Wednesday.
As the Royals’ offense struggled against Ryan, the Royals’ right-handed starting pitcher did his best to keep the deficit manageable.
He pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs en route to his first loss of the season.
“Ryan threw a really good game,” Lugo (1-1) said. “I tried to keep the team in range to come back there late, but it just didn’t happen. I thought I located pretty well and mixed up pitches. I thought I threw the ball well and it’s just bad luck on the loss.”
The Twins made Lugo work in the fourth inning and he allowed a run after issuing consecutive walks. Twins infielder Edouard Julien broke the scoreless tie with an RBI single, scoring Carlos Correa.
“Julien put up a good at-bat,” Lugo said. “He fouled off a lot of quality pitches. I walked a couple of guys that inning. Pretty good pitches and good takes. So I tip my hat there.”
Minnesota tacked on another run in the sixth. Lugo finished with six strikeouts in his 109-pitch outing.
What’s next: The Royals conclude their AL Central series against Minnesota on Thursday. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. Right-hander Michael Wacha gets the start for KC against Twins right-hander Bailey Ober.
This story was originally published April 9, 2025 at 9:13 PM.
