Joe Ryan removed his cap and ran his right hand through his hair as he trotted off the mound after a 39-pitch fourth inning Tuesday, in which three unearned runs scored, and then he sat on the dugout bench for the next several minutes reviewing his pitches on an iPad.
There haven’t been many moments this season when Ryan didn’t look in complete command.
Ryan was charged with giving up two earned runs in four innings. The Twins didn’t play clean defense behind him, but he wasn’t at his sharpest during a 6-3 loss to the Athletics at Target Field. It was the first time Ryan failed to complete at least five innings all year.
The Twins have lost seven of their last 10 games.
The fourth inning started with three plays that could’ve been made. Tyler Soderstrom hit a ground ball to shortstop on the first pitch of the inning, but Brooks Lee’s throw after he fielded the ball to his backhand pulled first baseman Kody Clemens off the bag.
Lawrence Butler, the next batter, followed with a one-hop rocket that spun off second baseman Luke Keaschall and bounced all the way to right field for a double. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, Ryan induced a slow ground ball against Darell Hernaiz in a 10-pitch at-bat, but Clemens dropped a throw from third baseman Royce Lewis for an error.
Ryan, backed into a bases-loaded, no-out jam without a ball leaving the infield, struck out JJ Bleday on three pitches. Next up, Brett Harris lofted a fly ball into shallow right field. Keaschall caught the ball about six steps into the outfield, but Soderstrom opted to test his arm (Keaschall had Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last year and broke his right forearm this year).
Soderstrom, not known for his speed, beat Keaschall’s throw to the plate, scoring a run on a sacrifice fly to the second baseman.