Shadows had Twins flailing early, but Astros had no such issues

Twins hitters didn't want to make any excuses for their struggles offensively or take anything away from Cristian Javier's performance, but the mid-afternoon shadows at Target Field in the first few innings Tuesday surely had some effect.

The Twins whiffed on seven of their 11 swings in the first inning. Javier induced seven swings and misses with his slider alone in the first two innings, which matched his highest total in a game all season with the pitch.

"On the position player side, we would love to see 3 o'clock games abolished here in Minnesota," Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers said after a 9-1 loss in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.

As much as the Twins had moments where they took ugly swings, the Houston Astros seemingly didn't have as much of an issue with the shadows against Sonny Gray. The Astros scored four runs in the top of the first inning, which included a three-run homer from José Abreu.

"They didn't seem to mind the shadows early," outfielder Matt Wallner said. "In my personal opinion, yeah, it was harder to see. But they also seemed just fine."

Said Abreu: "It was difficult to see. We all went out there trying to have really good swings. We were able to do that."

The Astros played a day game at Target Field in April, so they expected to deal with shadows Tuesday.

"That's always a factor. More than the weather, I think," Astros manager Dusty Baker said, astutely, before Tuesday's game. "The shadows, you can't usually pick up the breaking ball. From experience, the sun doesn't help and the lights don't help. You can't see the dot on the breaking ball to determine between the breaking ball and the fastball."

Nearly a full week after Joe Ryan prepared to start a potential do-or-die Game 3 in the wild-card round, he will take the mound in another do-or-die situation.

Ryan was informed Monday night he was the starting pitcher for Game 4 of the ALDS. The Twins used Kenta Maeda and Bailey Ober, other potential options, out of the bullpen Tuesday.

"It's a guy that can miss bats against almost anybody," Baldelli said. "He throws a lot of strikes. He doesn't walk a lot of people. If you're looking for a good place to start, especially against a team that doesn't strike out a lot, I think that combination of things works well."

Ryan, who had a 3.83 ERA in 14 home starts compared to a 5.22 ERA in 15 road starts this year, allowed seven hits and nine runs across 10 innings in two regular-season outings against the Astros.

He hasn't faced hitters since pitching in Colorado on Sept. 29 because he was available out of the bullpen for the first two games of the ALDS.

"We've kept the intensity there in catch play and bullpens," said Ryan, who will make his postseason debut. "I think it's good to have a little bit of rest, too, after the long season. If you just keep everything firing how it should be and make sure your pitches are there, it's not too much of a worry."

After Houston completed its Game 3 win over the Twins, one of the Astros pitching coaches told José Urquidy he was starting Wednesday's Game 4.

"I was waiting for the chance since we started the series," said Urquidy, who had a 3-3 record and a 5.29 ERA in 63 innings this year. He allowed one run across 5⅓ innings in a start at Target Field on April 7.

• For the first time since Royce Lewis injured his hamstring on Sept. 19, he played third base for the Twins.

• Johan Santana, sporting a Pablo López jersey, threw the ceremonial first pitch before Game 3 to Joe Mauer. López, who idolized Santana as a kid in Venezuela, wore Santana's jersey before he pitched in the wild-card round and delivered the ball to Santana. Gary Gaetti is scheduled to throw the first pitch before Game 4 to Dan Gladden.

• The Twins had an announced crowd of 41,017 on Tuesday, their largest crowd since they drew 41,121 to Game 3 of the 2019 ALDS against the New York Yankees.