Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishKANSAS CITY, Mo. — Welcome back, Joe Ryan.With his stuff playing up, his team in need of good vibes and no questions about his health weighing him down, Ryan delivered a big performance for the Twins on Wednesday night. The right-hander faced one batter over the minimum and combined with two relievers on a three-hit shutout as the Twins topped the Kansas City Royals 4-0 in front of 13,156 at Kauffman Stadium.Ty France singled in a key run, and he and Matt Wallner hit solo homers on a day the Twins learned they’d likely lose Pablo López to the 15-day injured list with a Grade 1 hamstring strain. Edouard Julien also singled in a run, and Harrison Bader made several nice plays in the victory, which snapped the Twins’ three-game losing streak.But it was Ryan who starred over seven sterling innings, providing his team the type of outing he routinely made in 2024 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last August.“It’s not only a great sign, but it’s also something that we expected to see, and (Ryan) expected of himself,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He threw the ball like this (last year). This is the way the ball came out of his hand. This is the way the hitters responded to him in his starts. It’s great to sit here and say he’s gotten himself to a spot where he can go out there and dominate a lineup. … He looked really sharp. That’s how you want to see Joe Ryan executing.”Minus a brief pause after his first live batting practice in late February, Ryan’s made continual progress since he began throwing during the offseason. He hit all of his marks before camp and once he arrived in Fort Myers.
Tonight’s Joe Ryan Experience. pic.twitter.com/ByYdNfstSQ
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 10, 2025Following the hiccup, one in which he and the training staff wanted to make sure all systems were go, Ryan picked up speed once again. He made his first exhibition start on March 6 and stayed on a normal five-day schedule.Through all his outings, including his previous two regular-season starts, Ryan looked healthy. But none of those showings looked as good as Wednesday’s, when Ryan’s velocity ticked up and he cut it loose.Ryan used a dominant fastball to start the game with strikeouts of Jonathan India and Bobby Witt Jr. He retired the first seven batters he faced and was economical throughout, mixing up his sequences later in the start.“It was fun to watch,” López said. “He was challenging people. … You can see later on, second, third time through the lineup, that he’s already flipping them the script a little bit, throwing them off the scent, starting soft and finishing with that fastball.”Ryan also had a little good fortune.Witt opened the fourth inning by slapping a 2-2 sweeper for an opposite-field double. Working with a 1-0 lead, Ryan retired Vinnie Pasquantino on a fly out. After lining out in his previous at-bat, Salvador Perez hit another sharp ball toward the gap, one that Bader ran down. Before Perez’s swing, Witt swiped third base easily with a headfirst slide, which led to Bader doubling him off on a close play at second.After Witt’s double, Ryan didn’t allow another base runner, retiring the final 11 batters he faced. He completed seven innings, easily his longest outing of the past month-plus. Seven innings also matched Ryan’s season high from 2024, a total he reached five times while posting a 3.60 ERA and striking out 147 batters in 135 innings.“It’s tough coming back into games,” Ryan said. “It’s definitely trying to know you’ve done it before and stay locked in. It takes an outing to get back under there, get out for the sixth, get out for the seventh. I wanted to keep going. … I felt really strong. I didn’t even think about anything.”Filling up the zone, Ryan needed only 85 pitches to complete seven. He could have continued on, and preferred to, but acknowledged the process that resulted in his removal. Given Ryan hadn’t even gotten up and down six times in a start, Baldelli removed him while suggesting he’d have allowed his pitcher to go deeper down the road.“We had reasonable discussions in the dugout of him even going back out there,” Baldelli said. “The only thing that stopped that today was the fact that he’s only thrown five innings this year (in each start), with his spring being slightly abbreviated. … We’re going to push him. And probably a month from now, he might end up finishing the game the way he’s pitching. It’s all positive.”The Twins needed positive reinforcement after three consecutive losses, two of which were winnable games.Getting there was slow-going. They had to wait out Kansas City starter Seth Lugo, who used an assortment of eight pitches to stymie the Twins early.Then in the fourth, Carlos Correa and Trevor Larnach drew consecutive one-out walks. After France lined out to the pitcher, Julien singled in the first run, a play in which Larnach was cut down on the bases for the final out of the inning.Two innings later, France extended the lead to 2-0 with an opposite field single off Lugo to score Correa, who doubled with two outs and advanced to third on a wild pitch ahead of an intentional walk of Larnach.Wallner blasted a towering homer to right off lefty Sam Long in the eighth, and France padded the lead with a blast to left in the ninth.“I don’t think we’ve been that far off,” Ryan said, citing a lot of his teammates’ hard-hit balls finding gloves. “I’m just like, don’t change anything, just stay there, because it’s going to happen.”
Tour de France pic.twitter.com/R8wfv8Rxvj
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 10, 2025López likely headed to 15-day ILAfter realizing the risk he’d take by pushing it and making his next turn, López can at least accept the idea he’s headed for the 15-day injured list. Doesn’t mean he’ll like it.López’s MRI revealed a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, which will almost assuredly means he’ll miss his next turn. Speaking after the game, López plans to continue throwing throughout his IL stint with the idea he can return once the 15 days are up.“This early in the season, it would be a pretty big risk to go out there and try to pitch in five or six days,” López said. “I know I would have it in the back of my mind. … I don’t like it. I hate it. But it makes sense.”López was surprised he didn’t feel the injury much when he slept Tuesday night. After undergoing the MRI, he spent most of the day doing exercises and soft-tissue work while receiving treatment.López, who stretches in between innings and stays hydrated, doesn’t think his process resulted in the injury. Now, he’s preparing for a rehab process that will continue with more exercises, stretching, soft-tissue work and recovery devices. Through it all, he intends to play catch every day.“I want it to just be 15 days,” López said “In order to do that, I’ll do everything that’s hamstring related, but I’ll keep the arm in shape.”López’s next turn in the rotation lands on Sunday against Detroit. Triple-A starter Zebby Matthews also pitched on Tuesday with his next turn scheduled for Sunday, which could make him an easy fit to replace López.Top prospect Jenkins also sidelinedThe Twins placed Double-A outfielder Walker Jenkins on the seven-day IL with an ankle injury. Jenkins, who is rated as the No. 4 prospect in baseball by The Athletic’s Keith Law, played two games at Wichita before the announcement.Jenkins initially hurt his ankle while trying to make a catch early in minor-league spring training.(Photo: Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images)
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