Resurgent Ryan, offense help Twins open final month strong

ARLINGTON -- After a rough homestand against the Guardians, the Twins returned to the win column on Friday night against the Rangers.

Powered by a stellar outing from right-hander Joe Ryan and a late surge by the offense, including three home runs, Minnesota took the series opener against Texas, 5-1, at Globe Life Field.

• Games remaining: at TEX (2), at CLE (3), vs NYM (3), vs TB (3), at CWS (4), vs CIN (3), vs LAA (3), vs OAK (3), at COL (3)
• Standings update: The Twins hold a five-game lead over the Guardians for the American League Central title. Minnesota (70-65) is the third-seeded division winner, meaning the club would host a three-game Wild Card series vs. the final AL Wild Card entrant.

Ryan, who’s now faced the Rangers twice this week, was just as efficient in his encore performance as he was last Saturday. The 27-year-old hurler tossed six innings of one-run ball, fanned seven batters and yielded just three hits against Texas.

It was the second time in six days that Ryan has limited the Rangers offense to just one run while striking out seven batters.

“That’s a very difficult thing to do,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “It’s one thing to face one of the better lineups in the league, but it's another thing to do it in basically the span of a week. They just saw him, and [Ryan] continued to go out there and get outs.

“The offspeed stuff looked pretty good. He just had it working today. He didn’t throw too many pitches and was able to get the ball in the hands of our relievers for the win. So that’s the kind of start we’re looking for.”

Ryan, who boasts a career-high 166 strikeouts this year, topped 160 K's in a single season for the first time in the Majors. The California native also earned his 10th win of the season, marking the second consecutive season in which he’s posted double-digit wins.

“I feel great,” said Ryan. “We played good defense and made some great catches. We hit the ball, too, so that was awesome. I think it was just a good all-around team win.”

As summer fades into autumn and the postseason draws near, Ryan’s resurgence is a welcome sight for a Twins club that holds a five-game lead over the Guardians in the AL Central.

On the other side of the diamond, Minnesota’s offense struggled early against three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, mustering just one hit off him through six innings.

Once the eight-time All-Star was removed from the game, though, the Twins took full advantage and pounced on a faulty Rangers bullpen.

Jordan Luplow put Minnesota on the board with a pinch-hit two-run home run to the opposite field in the top of the seventh inning. The Statcast-projected 381-foot blast gave the Twins a 2-1 lead and snapped an 0-for-15 skid for Luplow.

Two batters later, Christian Vázquez chipped in with a homer of his own -- a solo shot to the opposite field -- to give the Twins a 3-1 lead.

In the top of the eighth inning, Minnesota put the proverbial nail in Texas’ coffin, as pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers hit a leadoff double and Jorge Polanco provided two more runs of insurance with his 11th homer of the season.

Polanco’s home run ball jumped off his bat at 107.4 mph and sailed a Statcast-projected 389 feet before landing in the right-field seats.

After sending his go-ahead shot over the right-field wall, Luplow was noticeably fired up, saluting the Twins’ bench as he rounded third base. After the game, he discussed the emotion behind the celebration.

“Obviously, that was a big spot in the game,” Luplow said. “It helped put some runs on the board, but even more than that, these hitting coaches have really been grinding with me in the cages and putting in work.

“I had a rough week last week, but these guys were extremely helpful in getting me back to myself. So [the celebration] just showed how I feel and how I feel about them and the work they put in.”