Byron Buxton homered twice, Carlos Correa once, and Michael A. Taylor contributed an RBI double. But the most astounding performance in the Twins’ 6-0 victory over the Red Sox was turned in by Joe Ryan, who retired three Red Sox hitters in order in the ninth inning to secure a split of the four-game series and the 10-game homestand.
Why was that quiet inning so notable? Because Ryan pitched the other eight innings, too, snapping the Twins’ streak of 724 games — more than five years — without a nine-inning complete game. Ryan allowed the hot-hitting Red Sox, who had scored 60 runs in their previous eight games, just three hits, all of them singles and never more than one an inning. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out eight in improving to 8-4 on the season and lowering his ERA to 2.98.
The Target Field matinee crowd of 28,553 cheered when Ryan jogged to the mound in the ninth inning, his walk-up music “Fire on the Mountain” playing over the loudspeakers. The cheers grew louder as he struck out Jarren Duran on an up-and-away fastball, then grew into roars when Justin Turner popped up to second baseman Kyle Farmer.
And the ovation hit a no-hitter-like zenith when Ryan finished off the best start of his MLB career by inducing Masataka Yoshida to fly out to left fielder Willi Castro.
The last Twins pitcher to complete a nine-inning game without bullpen help was Jose Berrios, who beat the White Sox 7-2 on June 7, 2018. Berrios also pitched the last complete-game shutout, winning 7-0 in Baltimore on April 1, 2018.
Ryan’s Twins teammates made the afternoon stress-free for the 27-year-old righthander, scoring two runs in the first inning and two more in the second. Correa and Buxton hit solo home runs in the first inning, each into the upper deck in left field. Buxton’s traveled 466 feet, the second-longest home run of his career; he led off the third inning with one that StatCast measured as only one foot shorter, his team-leading 13th of the season.