Do the Twins have an energy issue?
The Minnesota Twins dropped their fourth game in five tries on Wednesday night, falling 13-9 to the Kansas City Royals in a rain-soaked mess at Kauffman Stadium that pretty much summed up how this young season has gone so far.
Joe Ryan, who had been so sharp in his Opening Day start against Baltimore, looked nothing like himself this time around.
He gave up five runs on nine hits across just four innings, and his fastball velocity dipped nearly 2 mph after the first frame as rain and fog rolled in.
The Royals took advantage early, breaking the game open with a pair of two-out hits in the second inning and never really letting Minnesota back in.
Ryan Takes Ownership
After the game, Ryan didn't try to mess around with anything.
"We were just a little off the page. I don't think we really showed up to play baseball today from the get-go," Ryan said.
And look, when your ace is saying that about the whole team, it probably means the issues go beyond just one rough start.
Minnesota has now lost four of five games to open 2026 and sits at 1-4 with a team batting average of .210, which ranks near the bottom of the league.
The Royals, meanwhile, improved to 3-2 on the season with the win.
Signs of Life in the Late Innings
The strange thing about this Twins team is that they keep showing fight even when the game looks completely out of reach.
Wednesday was a perfect example of that.
Down 12-2 heading into the seventh, Minnesota rattled off eight runs over the final three innings to make it somewhat interesting.
Luke Keaschall ripped a two-run double in the seventh, and Josh Bell launched a three-run homer in the ninth that pulled the deficit to 13-9 before the Royals finally shut the door.
That kind of late energy is encouraging, but it also highlights the bigger problem. You can't dig yourself a 12-run hole and expect to climb out every time.
The Twins need to show up from the first pitch, and Ryan basically admitted as much.
What's Next for Minnesota
The early returns are ugly, but it's five games into a 162-game season.
This roster still has real talent in guys like Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, Keaschall, and Ryan himself, who looked dominant in that Opening Day outing before Wednesday's slip.
The front office didn't do much to upgrade after a rough 2025 campaign, but players like Keaschall and Lewis are expected to take big steps forward this year, and Bailey Ober has said the team doesn't care about what the outside world thinks of them.
Minnesota wraps up the series in Kansas City on Thursday before heading home to Target Field for the home opener against Tampa Bay.
The Twins still have a long runway, but the early struggles are real.
A roster built on young players tuning out the noise has to actually start winning games soon, or the conversation will shift from "it's early" to "this is who they are" faster than anyone in that clubhouse wants.