Joe Ryan left the Rangers waiting for a second rally

Danny Jansen’s fifth-inning single was the sort of interruption that can change a baseball game only if the pitcher lets it. Joe Ryan did not. After Jansen reached with one out, Ryan struck out Brandon Nimmo, absorbed a hit-by-pitch against Alejandro Osuna and then retired Corey Seager to leave both runners stranded.

That was the clearest measure of Minnesota’s 10-2 victory over the Rangers on Friday night at Target Field. The Twins had already built a large lead, but Ryan’s recovery from Texas’ two-run first prevented the Rangers from making the game interesting again. Texas never managed a second scoring inning. Texas kept producing occasional traffic; Minnesota kept finding the next out.

Ryan’s response began after an opening inning that looked nothing like his final line. Brandon Nimmo started with a double, Josh Jung was hit by a pitch, and Corey Seager’s single brought Nimmo home. Wyatt Langford then grounded out, scoring Jung and giving Texas a 2-0 lead with Ryan recording his first out.

Ryan hit Nicky Lopez later in the inning, but Jake Burger’s force play ended the threat without another run.

The Twins starter then put together the concrete recovery Texas needed to prevent. Evan Carter grounded out to open the second, Jansen flied out and Nimmo struck out. In the third, Osuna struck out, Seager lined out and Langford was called out on strikes. Ryan handled the fourth with a strikeout of Ezequiel Duran, a groundout by Lopez and a flyout from Burger.

Carter’s strikeout to begin the fifth extended Ryan’s streak to 10 consecutive batters retired since the end of the first. By the time Jansen singled, the Rangers had gone more than three innings without putting anybody aboard. Their early advantage had disappeared while the offense stood still.

Ryan’s answer was efficient enough. Nimmo struck out, Osuna reached on the hit-by-pitch, and Seager grounded out. Texas had two runners aboard, yet the inning ended exactly where too many Rangers opportunities did: without a run and without a hit that moved the game’s shape.

The sixth brought another chance, although the sequence was less threatening than a quick glance at the final baserunners might suggest. Langford grounded out, Duran singled, and Lopez struck out for the second out. Burger then walked, placing two Rangers on base with two outs. Carter struck out on a foul tip. The Rangers challenged, seeking a hit-by-pitch ruling, but the strikeout stood.

Ryan’s line—six innings, four hits, two runs, eight strikeouts, one walk and three hit batters on 103 pitches—shows both halves of the outing. He allowed four of Texas’ six hits. The Rangers’ remaining two hits came later, one against Kody Funderburk in the seventh and one against Taylor Rogers in the ninth.

None created a scoring inning. Texas had Nimmo’s first-inning double and five singles, plus two walks and three hit batters, but left seven runners on base.

Minnesota’s offense gave Ryan room to recover. Luke Keaschall went 4-for-5 with a triple, a double, three RBI and three runs. His two-run triple helped complete the six-run second, while Kody Clemens’ three-hit night included a two-run homer in the sixth. Those swings turned Ryan’s task from protecting a fragile lead into handling isolated pockets of resistance.

Trevor Williams also deserves credit for two scoreless innings and three strikeouts after Texas had fallen behind, limiting further damage. Ryan, though, had already done the work that made the late innings so comfortable for Minnesota. He allowed the first two runs, then completed the sixth after Duran’s single, Lopez’s strikeout, Burger’s walk and Carter’s final out.

Ryan left with eight strikeouts and Texas still carrying only its two first-inning runs. The Rangers had spent five innings trying to add to them, and the next pitcher inherited an eight-run lead.

Sources

Official game data

Official game box score