On a tense Sunday afternoon at Target Field, the Minnesota Twins saw their All-Star starter Joe Ryan exit after just nine pitches, signaling to the dugout immediately after walking Kazuma Okamoto. Elbow soreness was the culprit, casting a shadow over what would become a gritty 4-3 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays.
“We got imaging. We’ll kind of evaluate from there,” said Twins manager Derek Shelton, noting the team has an off day Monday to assess the situation. “We’ll go off that.”
Ryan’s early departure is especially concerning for a Twins rotation already thin on depth. Fellow top starter Pablo López remains sidelined after elbow surgery this spring, while Mick Abel is on the injured list with elbow inflammation—though he did throw his first bullpen session Saturday. Adding to the worry, David Festa reported renewed shoulder soreness this weekend, and general manager Jeremy Zoll indicated it’s unclear if Festa would return as a starter given his recent injury history.
What looked like rotation depth entering spring training has quickly evaporated, forcing the Twins to lean heavily on their bullpen. And on this day, the relievers delivered a performance that had the clubhouse buzzing.
Rookie Andrew Morris came on in the first inning and tossed 3 2/3 scoreless frames, earning his first career victory. “For me, I’m like ‘I’m going to come in and get as many (outs) as I can and do what I can,’” Morris said. “So I was thinking in my head, ‘Let’s try to go five.’” His teammates celebrated with a well-deserved beer shower.
Taylor Rogers followed with 2 1/3 innings of one-run ball, Eric Orze threw 1 1/3 scoreless, Kody Funderburk recorded an out, and Justin Topa—despite surrendering two runs in the ninth—locked down the save. It was a collective effort that showcased the bullpen’s resilience after recent struggles.
“Friggin’ phenomenal, especially with the way things have been going,” Funderburk said. “We’re all working our (butts) off out there trying to figure it out, myself included. … Just to have Morris, Rog, Orz, me, Top, literally every hand on deck go in there and execute (and) keep a really good team at bay, I think it was a really huge game for us.”
The Twins offense provided early support, scoring in the first inning on a Victor Caratini single. They broke the game open in the fifth with three runs, highlighted by RBI doubles from Luke Keaschall, Kody Clemens, and Matt Wallner—the latter snapping an 0-for-19 slump in dramatic fashion.
For a team that entered spring training with enviable rotation depth, the Twins now find themselves navigating adversity with a bullpen that proved it can rise to the occasion. That resilience, paired with timely hitting, turned a potentially disastrous afternoon into a much-needed win.