Record: 6-6
W: Joe Ryan (1-1, 2.65 ERA)
L: Seth Lugo (1-1, 3.24 ERA)
Key Highlights
The best player in this game was the Twins’ starting pitcher. Joe Ryan went seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four. Coming into the game, Ryan had dominated the Royals, entering this matchup with a 6-0 record and 1.49 ERA over eight games. This start was no exception.
Ryan excelled at utilizing his four-seam fastball up in the zone to set up his splitter and slider. These would look similar to that fastball with a dropping motion that enables swings-and-misses (10 in this game) and weak contact. Ryan also benefited from eight called strikes on the fastball, which forced swings on the other pitches that started up. What’s most intriguing about this game is that the losing pitcher, Seth Lugo, performed better in key categories.
Lugo was great by all metrics. 5.2 innings pitched, five hits, three walks, six strikeouts, and two earned runs. He struck out more than Ryan, but frankly, that’s the least impressive thing he led in. Seth Lugo gave up four hard-hit balls to Joe Ryan’s eight. Lugo also led in the whiff category with 14 to Ryan’s 10. Lugo never pitched like a losing pitcher in this game, he simply lost to another great pitcher.
Offensively, the Royals were nailing the screws of the ball but had trouble finding hits. The Royals had four more hard-hit balls than the Twins, with 12 overall. The highlight of these woes was a second-inning lineout by Salvador Perez that came off the bat at 110 mph. The 15-degree launch angle and exemplary exit velocity were enough to garner an expected batting average of .670. Alas, it results in an out in the statline of a hitless Perez.
On the other hand, Ty France continued to be the best hitter on the planet against the Royals. Coming into the series, he had batted .400 against the Royals with five home runs, 20 RBI, and 19 runs scored over 29 games. That’s over 100 at-bats of beating the crap out of one team. Tonight, he continued that with a 3-4 performance that included a home run and two runs batted in. His 2025 OPS of .699 seemingly didn’t matter in Kauffman this trip.
Next Game Up
The Royals will look to take the four-game series against the Twins in the finale. Bailey Ober takes the bump for Minnesota with a slow start in his rearview mirror. Armed with a WHIP of 2.40, Ober looks to turn it around against a Royals lineup that has accumulated just five hits in the last two games. For the Royals, Michael Wacha looks to pick up his first win against an equally slow Twins offense.
Both teams could gain much-needed momentum with a win tomorrow. The Royals specifically aim to win the series. Especially before heading on a 10-day road trip including the Guardians, Yankees, and Tigers. A win tomorrow puts them above .500 and would put them at 5-2 in the middle of a grueling 17-game stretch without a day off.
Image Credit: Charlie Riedel – AP
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