The Minnesota Twins are now 1-6 over their last seven games after Thursday's 10-8 loss to the New York Mets, and they're below .500 after 25 games for the third straight year. 

Ace pitcher Joe Ryan had one of his worst starts of the season, as he allowed seven runs (four earned) on seven hits over five innings, with five strikeouts against two walks. The 29-year-old gave up a three-run homer to Brett Baty in the bottom of the first inning, putting the Twins down 3-1.

Marcus Semien led off the second with a double for the Mets before Ryan struck out Ronny Mauricio, but Carson Benge then moved Semien to third base on another double. Minnesota catcher Ryan Jeffers then got charged with an error on a passed ball on a Bo Bichette strikeout, which Semien scored on. 

Ryan then walked Juan Soto before Francisco Alvarez plated Benge on a sacrifice fly. After that, Luis Robert Jr. hit an RBI double before Baty finally struck out to end the inning.

Ryan retired New York's hitters in order with Minnesota down 6-1 in the third, but Benge hit a leadoff homer in the fourth to give the latter team a 7-2 lead. The veteran hurler then had another one-two-three inning to end his night in the fifth, but the Twins' bullpen couldn't keep the Mets off the board after the offense tied the game 7-7 in the eighth.

Minnesota has had a rollercoaster season, starting 3-6 before going 8-1 over the next nine games. However, its aforementioned 1-6 run over the last seven contests shows that the team is too inconsistent to be a "win-now" squad.

The Twins have promising players, as outfielder Austin Martin is slashing .347/.515/.469 over 23 contests, while Jeffers has an .889 OPS with three homers and 16 RBIs across 19 games. Meanwhile, starting pitcher Taj Bradley is 3-0 with a 1.63 ERA over five starts, and reliever Kody Funderburk has a 2.00 ERA over 12 outings.

On the other hand, the supporting cast around Ryan and fellow All-Star Byron Buxton still isn't good enough to contend. That's why Minnesota should trade those players for prospects and/or young big-leaguers before it's too late. Ryan has a mutual option in 2027 and Buxton is signed through 2028, so the club is better off selling them now and committing to a full rebuild instead of risking them walking in free agency.

The Twins are 12-13 after Thursday's loss and will continue their road trip agains the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. Bradley will start against right-hander Drew Rasmussen, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET.