Nothing New as Twins Open 2026 Season By Wasting Joe Ryan's Solid Start

The Twins went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and lost the season opener in Baltimore.

Mar 26, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan (41) delivers during the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images | Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins did very little to improve the roster from last season's 92-loss team, so expecting different results in 2026 might be overly optimistic — and the first sign that nothing has changed was Thursday's 2-1 loss in the season opener against the Baltimore Orioles.

After Joe Ryan and Trevor Rogers engaged in a solid pitcher's duel, the Twins' bullpen stumbled with the Orioles breaking the scoreless game with two runs off of right-hander Justin Topa in the bottom of the seventh inning.

After Kody Funderburk gave up a leadoff single to start the seventh after getting the two outs in the sixth inning, Topa entered the game and immediately allowed a single to Tyler O'Neill to give the Orioles runners at first and second with nobody out. They took a 1-0 lead on a sacrifice fly from Colton Cowser, and went up 2-0 on a two-out RBI single from Blaze Alexander.

Ryan was dominant in 5 1/3 shutout innings for the Twins. The 2025 All-Star allowed just one hit and two walks while striking out seven batters. He threw 85 pitches before he was pulled from the game. Ryan only made three starts and pitched 13 innings during spring training, so it wasn't a surprise that he was removed after only 85 pitches.

As good as Ryan was, the Twins were awful at the plate with runners in scoring position, getting just one hit in 12 opportunities.

In the second inning, they had runners at first and second with nobody out and failed to score.

In the third inning, they had runners at first and second with one out before Ryan Jeffers grounded into an inning-ending double play.

In the fourth inning, Matt Wallner and Josh Bell each walked to put two runners on with nobody out, but Victor Caratini grounded into a double play and Royce Lewis flied out to end the threat.

In the sixth inning, Luke Keaschall made it to second base on an error to start the inning, and he was stranded there.

In the seventh inning, Caratini's leadoff walk was quickly erased when Lewis grounded into a double play.

Minnesota finally broke through in the eighth inning when Byron Buxton's one-out triple was followed by an RBI sac-fly from Keaschall.

In the ninth inning, after Caratini slapped a two-out single through the left side, James Outman pinch ran and advanced to second base on a passed ball, only for Trevor Larnach to strike out on a pitch in the dirt to end the game.