ST. LOUIS — Joe Ryan’s first start since last August, Mickey Gasper’s first career hit and a nice leaping catch from Byron Buxton gave the Twins something to feel positive about on Saturday.
Aside from that? There wasn’t much.
The Twins went hitless in the middle innings of the game and Jorge Alcala gave up three runs without recording an out, helping send the Twins to a 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
Alcala, who entered after Ryan threw five solid innings of one-run ball, was hit on his shoulder by a comebacker to lead off the bottom of the sixth. The ball squirted past shortstop Carlos Correa and into the outfield for a double. He walked the next batter and gave up another hit, allowing the go-ahead run to score and spelling the end of his day.
Louie Varland entered, attempting to do damage control, and was close to doing just that — after walking the first batter he saw, he struck out the next two. But Lars Nootbaar, whose two-run home run on Thursday helped lift the Cardinals to a victory on Opening Day, instead rocked a 98.8 mile per hour fastball to center for a two-run single, breaking open the game.
That, coupled with an offense that disappeared for a bulk of the game on Saturday, sent the Twins to 0-2 on the season.
From Willi Castro’s double in the second inning, which drove in Trevor Larnach for the Twins’ only run of the day, to Gasper’s infield single to lead off the eighth, the Twins’ offense went hitless. Within that stretch, 13 straight hitters were sent down, as the Twins could do little off Cardinals starter Erick Fedde and reliever Ryan Fernandez.
Fedde went six innings in his start, allowing just two hits.
Ryan, who finished last season on the injured list after suffering a shoulder surgery in August, was very good, as well. After giving up a run in his first inning of work, the Twins starter settled in and threw four scoreless innings, striking out five, before making way for the bullpen.
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