MINNEAPOLIS — Oh, so that's why Joe Ryan is in the Twins' starting rotation and Michael Pineda isn't.
It was never an either/or decision, of course, and Ryan and Pineda both had jobs in the rotation last September. But the rookie's potential made the Twins' decision to allow the veteran to leave as a free agent easier — and on Wednesday, Ryan made it obvious.
Ryan shut out Detroit on one measly hit over seven innings and never allowed any Tiger to reach second base. He lowered his ERA to 1.17 this season, pitching the Twins to their sixth consecutive victory by beating the Tigers 5-0. It was the Twins' third shutout of the season, and after Danny Coulombe surrendered a ninth-inning double, their second two-hit shutout.
Pineda, meanwhile, was treated rudely by his former teammates in his homecoming game. Max Kepler homered twice, Trevor Larnach doubled twice, and Ryan Jeffers contributed one of each. The combination snapped Pineda's Target Field winning streak at three consecutive games.
In fact, Wednesday's loss was only the second time Pineda allowed three home runs in his former home park — and the previous one, coincidentally, was against the Tigers in 2019.
Ryan, who has now won three consecutive starts, dominated Detroit with a three-pitch mix of sliders, changeups and especially 93-mph fastballs, and he struck out six hitters in his first time through the Tigers' order. Only Spencer Torkelson, who drew Detroit's only walk, and Miguel Cabrera, who lined a first-pitch slider into left field in the fourth inning, could reach base, though umpire Ryan Blakney helped with an unusual call to end the third inning.
Robbie Grossman appeared to bunt his way on base with a roller down the third base line. But Blakney, noticing that Grossman's left foot was out of the batter's box as he strode toward the pitch, ruled him out.
Ryan, the first Twins starter to throw a pitch in the seventh inning this season, threw 90 pitches on the night, 58 of them strikes — several with Jeffers' help in framing close ones for Blakney. He finished with nine strikeouts.
Kepler, 5-for-11 over his past three games entering Wednesday, continued his hot hitting in the second inning, blasting an 0-1 fastball from Pineda just over the wall in left-center. Two innings later, an 0-1 changeup faced the same fate, except it stuck in the ribbon scoreboard on the second-deck facing in right field.
It was the right fielder's 12th multi-homer game of his career, eighth most in Twins' history.
And in the fifth, after Larnach doubled to keep right, Jeffers fouled away a tough two-strike slider, then drilled a line drive into the left-field seats, his second homer of the season. Jeffers also finished the Twins' scoring in the seventh off lefthander Andrew Chafin, following Larnach's double with one of his own off the center field fence, just missing his first two-homer game.
