Although the 30-year-old right-hander was charged with the loss on Monday, he appears to be finding his rhythm again on the mound.
Joe Ryan appears to be getting into a rhythm again on the mound for the Minnesota Twins despite the team suffering a slim 5-4 loss to the AL Central rival Detroit Tigers on Monday afternoon.
Through four innings pitched, the 30-year-old ace fanned seven batters while giving up three hits and two earned runs including a solo home run to Kevin McGonigle.
Following the game, Ryan expressed how much better he felt compared to his most recent rehab outing with Triple-A St. Paul. He would spend a stint on the 15-day injured list for just over a month with a left glute strain.
"Not even close -- I felt way better," Ryan said, according to MLB.com. "I think just a couple of pitches I could have executed a little differently, maybe thrown a different pitch and gotten the hitter a little bit better, but [catcher Ryan] Jeffers did a great job behind the plate and had some good challenges. Really good game calling. We communicated well and made adjustments through the game and finished strong."
He added: "It’s good to get some stuff dialed this week. We just felt like it took a turn and things went a lot better. Pregame, I knew it was going to be pretty good. The last couple days I just felt a lot more consistent, so that was really reassuring."
Although Ryan gave up the homer to McGonigle, he was otherwise efficient in the first when he struck out a pair of hitters while forcing a groundout by Gleyber Torres.
Still, Ryan's rust was evident in the second when he loaded the bases and hit two Tigers in John Peck and Keith. The hit on the latter would allow Zach McKinstry to score and put Detroit ahead 2-1.
A throwing error by Royce Lewis didn't help either when Max Clark reached home to extend the lead. Ryan fought back to end the inning, getting Torres down swinging on a gutsy 79-mph sweeper and retiring Riley Greene.
Ryan held on through the next couple innings, giving the Twins the momentum they needed to bring the game within one in the fourth when Trevor Larnach launched a solo shot to right field.
The Tigers pulled away in the fifth as Greene crushed a two-run shot off left-hander Connor Prielipp who took over for Ryan.
Minnesota responded once again in the sixth when rookie Walker Jenkins drove in Kaelen Culpepper and Larnach with a two-run double.
Kody Clemens attempted to ignite a late rally in the ninth with a five-pitch walk but it wasn't enough when Tigers closer Kenley Jansen retired Ryan Jeffers and Josh Bell for his 18th save of the season.
With the loss, Minnesota fell to 68-76 overall while Ryan has compiled a 3.68 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 129.2 innings of work this season.
Nonetheless, Ryan's resiliency on the mound has shown positive signs for future outings as the Twins' playoff chances continue to dwindle with less than three weeks remaining before the regular season draws to a close.
Ryan should get his next opportunity to toe the rubber during the Twins' upcoming series this weekend against the division rival Cleveland Guardians.
