Ryan, Twins shut out Brewers for 12th straight win

MILWAUKEE -- Another day, another injury. Another brilliant Joe Ryan start. And of course, another win for the somehow unstoppable Twins.

Even as Minnesota keeps shedding players, it keeps winning baseball games.

Ryan tossed six dominant innings of two-hit scoreless ball, striking out nine, as the Twins jumped to an early lead and held on for a 3-0 win against the Brewers at American Family Field on Friday night.

It was their 12th straight win, the longest streak in baseball this year and only their fourth win streak of at least that many games since the franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961. There has only been one longer streak in Minnesota history, a run of 15 straight in the World Series championship season of 1991.

Or, put another way, it’s more wins in a row than the Twins had healthy position players at the end of the game (11, maybe even 10).

“As cliché as it sounds like, it's just next man up,” said first baseman Ty France. “Losing those key pieces to your team, it hurts, but every single guy in here prepares as if they're the main guy on this team. So they fill right in.”

On Friday, Minnesota won without Carlos Correa, who was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list prior to the game, and Byron Buxton, who remains in Major League Baseball’s concussion protocol and was unavailable. They did it without Harrison Bader, working his way back from a tight left groin, held out another night.

They did it mostly without Willi Castro, who fouled a ball off his right knee in the second inning and was removed from the game soon after. Castro was diagnosed with a contusion, and though X-rays were negative, manager Rocco Baldelli said Castro was having trouble putting weight on the joint. Castro may not be headed for the injured list, but Baldelli sounded as though he was preparing for the possibility of doing without Castro on Saturday.

“He was limping around,” the manager said. “Being in the outfield, if he can’t run, he can’t play. We’ll check on him [Saturday]. He’s tough. He plays through a lot of things. He’ll be able to communicate with us just exactly how he’s doing tomorrow, but hopefully in a day or two, he’ll be fine and ready to play again.”

And so in Castro’s absence, the Twins won with Ryan Fitzgerald, making his Major League debut at 30 years old after being called up to take Correa’s roster spot. Fitzgerald stepped in at second base when Castro was removed, with Kody Clemens – a recent addition to cover for yet another injury – moving to the outfield.

Of the nine position players who were in the Opening Day lineup for Minnesota, only one -- France at first base -- finished Friday night’s game in the same spot as he was on that March 27 afternoon in St. Louis. Only three players from that lineup were even in the game at the end of Friday night. Some of that is due to previously injured players returning, but Minnesota has taken a remarkable number of hits and just continues winning.

“I appreciate what our players are open to, and what they’ve successfully navigated over these games, and what they’re going to navigate going forward,” said Baldelli. “They’ve done a great job, our guys, of simplifying what we’re asking them to do, not overcomplicating it, getting a lot of work in at a lot of different places, and then attacking the challenge.”

Mostly, they did it because Ryan maintained the form he has shown in the vast majority of this season. He worked around a single, a walk, and two steals in the first inning, allowing a grand total of two baserunners after that. At one point, Ryan struck out six straight Brewers. Over his last four starts, Ryan has allowed three runs in 25 innings for a 1.08 ERA.

Once Ryan and the stingy Twins bullpen were staked to a three-run lead, the game was effectively a done deal.

“I think after the third inning, probably I was like, 'All right, it's over,'” Ryan said. “It felt good. The ball is coming out well, we're playing good defense, making good plays at the right times. Hard-hit balls are getting caught. That feels good.”