Cardinals 5, Twins 1: Tough cookies

03/29/2025 05:09 PM

The Twins so far have marched to the beat of the same drum.

The Twins tallied just three hits, including just one after the second inning, in a sluggish 5-1 defeat all-too-reminiscent of the 2024 squad. With the victory on Saturday afternoon, the St. Louis Cardinals lock up the series and will have the opportunity to go for the sweep tomorrow.

Today, all eyes were on Joe Ryan in his first return to action in roughly seven months. For his part, Ryan delivered; striking out five and walking none, he held the Cardinals to a single run across five innings of five-hit ball, departing with 81 pitches thrown and a batter hit. He threw mostly fastballs, inducing three K's on heaters and two more with his splitter.

But for as good as Ryan was, Cardinal starter Erick Fedde was a tick better. The Twins would only muster two hits off him, both coming in a second inning that saw Willi Castro double home Trevor Larnach for Minnesota's only run of the afternoon. Even that RBI would only serve to tie the game, with St. Louis having again scored in the home first.

The real story, though, was a uncompetitive offering from Minnesota's relief corps. Jorge Alcala did not record an out, walking a batter and seeing three earned runs charged to his ledger in the sixth. Jhoan Duran put the team in a similar position to Thursday; up over 20 pitches, he was spelled in the eighth by Justin Topa (as Griffin Jax was on Opening Day) and exited the game with a 27.00 ERA and two walks allowed, as the Cardinals tacked on insurance in their final frame.

One of the only highlights of the day was Mickey Gasper's infield single, the first knock of his career.

But that an infield single serves as the predominant highlight pretty much sums this one up. The top of the lineup was once again absent from action, and a consistent level-headed approach from the Cardinals, including three two-out RBI and a pair of stolen bases, continued to push the margins throughout a gloomy contest.

Bailey Ober will take the mound tomorrow, with the team still looking for their first win in 2025. It'd be swell to grab one here in St. Louis, lest the club show up to Rate Field with a worse record than the Chicago White Sox.

STUDS:

SP Joe Ryan (5 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K, HBP)

DUDS:

CF Byron Buxton (0-for-4, 2 K)

RP Jorge Alcala (0 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, BB, 0 K)

RP Jhoan Duran (0.1 IP, ER, H, 2 BB, K)