CLEVELAND – In his second big-league start, Twins rookie pitcher Joe Ryan just missed a piece of perfection, but he left Progressive Field gripping an authenticated game ball by which to remember his very first MLB win, a 3-0 decision Wednesday night.
He might have taken a better sense of belonging on his way out the turnstiles, too.
Ryan pitched a perfect game into the seventh inning, retiring the first 19 batters he faced — until Cleveland shortstop Amed Rosario singled sharply into left field with one out in the seventh.
After a settling visit from pitching coach Wes Johnson, Ryan forced the inning's final batters to ground and fly out before he left the game. He allowed just the one hit, walked no one and struck out four. He threw 85 pitches, 61 one of them strikes.
He came within eight outs of delivering the franchise's first perfect game and the sixth Twins no-hitter, the first since Francisco Liriano at Chicago in May 2011.
Ryan claimed he wasn't following such a pursuit out by out.
"I was just kind of feeling like I hadn't thrown out of the stretch," he said. "The first time through [the lineup], I was like, "All right, that's pretty sweet."
If he wasn't, others were.
"Well, the heart rate starts going up a little bit," Twins acting manager Bill Evers said about watching Ryan plow 1-2-3 through Cleveland's lineup, inning after inning.
Young Cleveland starter Triston McKenzie matched Ryan nearly out for out until the Twins manufactured a run each in the fifth, seventh and eighth innings while Ryan and relievers Caleb Thielbar and Tyler Duffey never faltered.
“As a Triple-A manager, I told players when they went to the big leagues, 'Go there and make an impact. Believe you belong there.' I think Joe believes and that's how he carries himself.”
Afterward, Ryan simply shrugged at how he approached history before he watched it pass by in the night. He used change of speeds and relied less on his fastball than he did in his first start last week against the Cubs. He also minded his breathing and calmed the adrenaline that raced through him last week.
"To be honest, I'm not going to be thinking about results as much," Ryan said. "I'm not chasing a win. I'm not chasing a loss. I'm not chasing a perfect game, a no-hitter, whatever it may be. I think it's just focusing pitch by pitch, as simple as it is and as annoying as it is to say so many times."
BOXSCORE: Twins 3, Cleveland 0
His family and friends who made such a clamor at Target Field in his debut last week gathered at the American Legion's Log Cabin in San Anselmo in Northern California and cheered him on. His girlfriend and agent did so from Progressive Field's friendly confines.
Even Rocco Baldelli, the Twins manager who is on paternity leave, made one move from far away. He texted Evers at game's end and reminded him to present Ryan with a ball from his first major league win.
"We got the ball authenticated and I was proud to present it to him," Evers said.
In the clubhouse, Ryan reminded Evers that Evers managed him in a pinch for one game with minor league Hudson Valley in 2018.
"It's pretty ironic and he remembered to this day, so it was awesome," Evers said.
Ryan has retired the side 1-2-3 in 10 of the first 11 innings he pitched in his first two starts. The only blemishes were a game-deciding, three-run homer in the third inning against the Cubs and Rosario's seventh-inning single.
"I think Joe believes in himself and believes in his heart he can pitch here in the major leagues," Evers said. "He conducts himself like a professional major leaguer. His preparation is great and his stuff works up here in the big leagues. He believes can do it and I believe that's a big part of pitching here in the major leagues.
"As a Triple-A manager, I told players when they went to the big leagues, 'Go there and make an impact. Believe you belong there.' I think Joe believes and that's how he carries himself."
For one calm, clear, late summer's night in Cleveland, Joe Ryan did.
