Joe Ryan Gets Honest After Record-Tying Night Sinks Twins in Cleveland

Progressive Field turned into a launching pad on Monday night, and Joe Ryan was on the wrong end of nearly all of it.

Cleveland hammered seven home runs in a 13-4 rout of the Minnesota Twins, one shy of the franchise record, and six of them came against Ryan in just four innings.

It tied the modern era Major League record for home runs allowed in a single game and set a new Twins franchise mark, a stunning line for a pitcher who made his second straight All-Star team earlier this month.

Ryan did not hide from any of it afterward either.

"It's a tough one, right, because I'm the one that's wearing it. It's definitely all on me. It's definitely frustrating and not the way you want to start a series against this team," Ryan told reporters.

Brayan Rocchio started the damage in the first inning, Rhys Hoskins went deep twice, and Petey Halpin added a pair as Cleveland teed off on a pitcher who entered the night among the best in the American League.

Cleveland had entered the night as one of the weakest home run-hitting teams in the American League, which made the outburst even harder to explain.

Ryan allowed 10 hits and eight earned runs, and his season ERA jumped from 2.85 to 3.38 across 114 1/3 innings by the time he departed.

He suggested the Guardians had a precise game plan, noting that hitters who had struggled against fastballs all year were suddenly driving them out, though he refused to shift any blame away from his own stuff on the night.

The loss was Minnesota's third in a row, a skid in which the club has been outscored 29-7, and it dropped the team to 49-52 in a season that still hangs within reach of the playoff race.

The Twins sit three games behind Boston for the final American League wild card spot, which is why manager Derek Shelton sounded so frustrated.

"We battled to get back to .500, and the last three days we just have not played well," Shelton said.

The night was not without bright spots, since Byron Buxton singled twice in his return from a hip injury after Minnesota activated him earlier in the day, and Brooks Lee drove in a run with a triple.

Minnesota gets a quick chance to respond, sending rookie Kendry Rojas to the mound against Parker Messick on Tuesday night in Cleveland.

How the next week unfolds could shape the front office's approach, since the deadline conversation is already underway and performances like Monday's fuel the doubters.

Ryan has been too good for too long for one disaster to define his season, a point covered in the breakdown of his worst start of the year, but the Twins need him to turn the page fast.