Joe Ryan sharp in spring debut, Twins hit 4 homers in win over Yankees

Joe Ryan struck out four batters in two scoreless innings for a sharp spring training debut and the Twins hit four home runs — two of them off of six-time All-Star Gerrit Cole — in an 8-4 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday afternoon in Tampa, FL.

Ryan, pitching in his first game since his shoulder injury at Wrigley Field last Aug. 7, looked good over a couple frames against the Yankees' high-powered offense. In the first inning, he put runners on the corners with one out on an Aaron Judge walk and a Cody Bellinger single, but recovered by striking out Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr. to escape any damage.

The Chisholm strikeout came by way of the new ABS challenge system. A 1-2 sweeper was called a ball, but catcher Ryan Jeffers challenged it, and the replay showed that Ryan's pitch caught the corner. That system, which has been used in the minor leagues, could make its way to MLB in 2026.

Joe Ryan's 3Ks in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/bLsExcF0M2
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 6, 2025

Ryan then had a 1-2-3 second inning of work. He threw 37 total pitches, 23 of which were strikes, and allowed just the two baserunners. Ryan's fastball velocity was down a bit, sitting between 92 and 94, but for a guy making his spring debut after dealing with an injury last year, that's not a concern. He's got time to ramp up ahead of his first regular season start at the end of this month.

Meanwhile, the Twins made some loud contact against Cole, the 2023 AL Cy Young winner. They scored five runs in the second inning, capped by a Matt Wallner three-run homer. Brooks Lee singled off the wall in that inning and then took Cole deep in the third.

Brooks like that one is GONE pic.twitter.com/GZXVoFqDmi
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) March 6, 2025

The Twins also got home runs from Mike Ford and Mickey Gasper to add to their lead. Gasper, who had three hits on the day and has over a 1.000 OPS this spring, is making a push for a spot on Minnesota's Opening Day roster. Trevor Larnach and Ryan Jeffers also had multi-hit days for a Twins lineup that wasn't playing Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, or Royce Lewis. Notably, Edouard Julien went 0 for 4 and has a sub-.400 OPS so far this spring.

In other less positive news, Zebby Matthews exited the game with a trainer after fielding a slow ground ball in the fourth inning. Hopefully it was just a precautionary move, but we'll have to keep an eye on that situation.

Eiberson Castellano gave up two earned runs on two hits and three walks over 1.2 innings, striking out three. It was a shaky outing for the Twins' Rule 5 draft pick, who is hoping to earn a spot in their bullpen.

The Twins will split up their roster for the first time and play two simultaneous spring games on Friday afternoon.

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