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Joe Ryan is pitching like the ace the struggling Twins badly need

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With their pitching at the core of a damaging slump, the Minnesota Twins held a special meeting to address the failures, frustrations and path forward.

Joe Ryan followed it up with a stellar start they badly needed. With Pablo López shelved because of a shoulder injury until perhaps September, Ryan has unquestionably become the staff ace.

“You feel like you’re going to win every time he pitches,” manager Rocco Baldelli said Thursday, a day after Ryan threw a three-hitter over six scoreless innings to beat Seattle 2-0 and stop Minnesota's five-game losing streak. “You definitely look forward to the days where he’s on the bump and you get a chance to watch him throw, because you feel like anything’s possible.”

The 29-year-old right-hander is well on track for his first All-Star selection, with a career-best 2.86 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 91 innings. Ryan, who struck out major league home run and RBI leader Cal Raleigh three times on Wednesday, has an 0.887 WHIP that's the third best in baseball among pitchers with a qualified amount of innings.

After the game, he delivered a sermon of sorts on the value of the art of pitching over the data-driven revolution that has defined the approach for about every team in the sport.

“At the end of the day, it’s a competition and you can’t really put numbers to everything that goes into that,” Ryan said.

That competitive edge is an ace-like attribute that Ryan clearly has.

“I think he likes being the man, and I think he likes having the ball in his hands,” Baldelli said.

Over the three-week stretch entering their game on Wednesday, the Twins had a 7.67 ERA that was by far the worst in MLB, according to Sportradar. Their 1.62 WHIP was the worst during that span from June 5-24 while they lost 15 of 18 games and tumbled into fourth place in the AL Central.

“We’re the ones to blame, including myself,” said starting pitcher Chris Paddack, who took the lead along with pitching coach Pete Maki during the pregame meeting on Wednesday. “It’s just tough, a lot of crooked numbers the last couple of weeks, but it’s going to change.”

Before López and fellow starter Zebby Matthews were sidelined by shoulder injuries earlier this month, the Twins were in a groove on the mound. Their 13-game winning streak in May was fueled by the starting pitching, which ranked fifth in MLB with a 3.40 ERA and third with a 1.16 WHIP through June 4.

“The meeting was something that really stemmed from the following idea: There are things you can control and that you should attack and there are things that you have less control over,” Baldelli said. “Not that those things aren’t going to be on your mind, but focus on the things that you can clearly control and do those things exceptionally well and start there. That was a good reminder, I think, for everyone in the room.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

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