Joe

Ryan

The first inning was eventful for Ryan. After the leadoff homer, Bobby Witt Jr. sent a shot to left-center that both Trevor Larnach and Ryan Kreidler tried to catch, leading to a collision. Fortunately, both were OK after being checked on and Kreidler actually held on to the ball. After that, things were pretty quiet. Ryan struck out five and allowed no additional extra-base hits. He remains 4-3 with a 3.07 ERA. He’ll next face the Tigers on Thursday, unless the Twins decide to add a fifth starter before then and push Ryan back to Friday against the Cardinals.

Despite having his best velocity of the year — he averaged 94.6 mph with his fastball — Ryan gave up homers to Miguel Vargas and Andrew Benintendi, plus another eight hard-hit balls. But he did miss some bats, too, generating 13 whiffs with a 33 percent CSW. He’s 4-3 with a 3.20 ERA, and he’ll get to face the Royals at home next time out.

Ryan gave up five hits, walked none and struck out nine. He’s had nine strikeouts in back-to-back starts. The only damage against Ryan came on a two-run home run by Munetaka Murakami in the eighth inning. Ryan has a 2.94 ERA. He’s lined up to face the Pirates on the road on Sunday.

Ryan got 19 whiffs and had a 38 percent CSW in his most dominant performance yet this season. Since providing everyone a big scare by leaving his May 3 start with an elbow issue, Ryan has had three straight outings in which he’s allowed exactly one run in six innings. He’s 3-3 with a 3.02 ERA and a 61/14 K/BB in 56 2/3 innings.

Ryan ran into trouble early in this one, allowing a leadoff double to Jackson Chourio on the first pitch of the game. Chourio would come around to score two batters later on an RBI single by William Contreras, but Ryan was able to limit further damage in the inning. It would be the only run Ryans would allow on the night, as he settled in to pitch five-straight scoreless frames while tying a season-high with seven strikeouts. Ryan has allowed two earned runs or fewer in his last four starts, but hasn’t won a game since April 11th. He’ll look to pick up his third win of the season in his next outing, which is scheduled for Wednesday against the Astros.

Ryan left his last start with elbow soreness, but you’d never guess that based on how he pitched tonight. He had some of his best velocity of the year early on, eventually finishing the night up 0.7 mph from his season average. He struck out five. There’s certainly no guarantee that his elbow won’t act up again, but this was an encouraging showing. He’ll likely face the Brewers next week.

It sounds like Ryan will be a full-go for Saturday’s contest against the Guardians after making it through Wednesday’s bullpen session without any issues. The 29-year-old underwent an MRI that didn’t reveal any structural damage after leaving his previous start with elbow soreness.

Ryan was removed from his last start in the first inning with elbow soreness, but the corresponding MRI revealed no structural damage. As of now, it appears that Ryan won’t miss his turn in the rotation. If you have the option, we’d rather keep Ryan on the bench for this start until we can be sure that he’s truly healthy.

It’s the best-case scenario for Minnesota, and fantasy managers, as Ryan was able to play catch without any issues on Tuesday and is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Wednesday. There’s a strong possibility the 29-year-old upper-echelon fantasy starter is ready to take the ball against the Guardians on Saturday after leaving his previous outing with elbow soreness. There should be a definitive update on his status for his next start following Wednesday’s bullpen session.

It’s pointless to spend too much time reading the tea leaves here, but it’s undoubtedly a positive sign that Ryan traveled with the team ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Nationals. The 29-year-old upper-echelon fantasy starter left Sunday’s outing against the Blue Jays in the first inning with elbow soreness. He presumably underwent an MRI to determine whether he’s dealing with any structural damage. The best course of action for fantasy managers is probably to leave him on the bench in weekly leagues before lineups lock.