The Minnesota Twins are finding ways to win even with a banged-up roster.
The Minnesota Twins beat the Houston Astros 4-1 on Wednesday at Target Field, and it meant more than the final score.
Joe Ryan dominated on the mound, the lineup got timely hits from guys who were not in the picture a week ago, and the whole thing felt like a statement.
Manager Derek Shelton saw exactly what he needed to see.
"Whether it's 26 guys, 28, 29 or however many we've used, we have to use our whole roster," Shelton said after the game. "It's really nice to see that the guys that are filling in and playing (Wednesday) were contributing. ... That's a team win."
The Roster Has Been Through a Lot
He was not exaggerating. The Twins have been hit hard by injuries and tough roster decisions over the past few weeks.
Catcher Ryan Jeffers broke his wrist and will miss six to eight weeks, Byron Buxton has been in and out of the lineup with hip flexor soreness, and Taj Bradley landed on the injured list in early May with pectoral inflammation after being arguably Minnesota's best starter.
Then there were the demotions.
The Twins optioned both Royce Lewis and Matt Wallner to Triple-A recently, and while Lewis had been one of the faces of the rebuild, his bat was not producing.
Those are hard decisions for a team that came into the year with low expectations and not a lot of margin.
Next Man Up Has Worked
Even with all of that, the Twins have stayed in games.
Minnesota is 23-27 and has won three of its last four series heading into Thursday's off day, with the rotation putting up a collective 2.25 ERA over the last 12 games.
Wednesday was the best version of what this group can look like.
Ryan tied his career high with 12 strikeouts across six innings without issuing a walk, retiring his final 16 batters after giving up one run in the second.
Ryan Kreidler launched a three-run homer in the fourth against his former team, and Victor Caratini went deep against the Astros club he played for the past two seasons.
Rookie Andrew Morris came in for the ninth and put up a perfect frame for his first career save.
Fifteen strikeouts and zero walks from the pitching staff as a whole. That is the brand of baseball Shelton has been preaching since he got to Minnesota.
It Is About the Whole Roster
Shelton did not dress it up after the game.
This team is not built around one or two stars, and everybody has to pull weight on any given night.
Kreidler and Caratini came through at the plate while Morris shut the door, and that is exactly the depth a team needs when the injury report looks like it does.
Minnesota opens a 10-game road trip in Boston on Friday.
If the Twins keep getting this from the fill-in guys, the second half could look a lot different than anyone predicted.
