Twins blasted 8-2 by Cubs, lose starting pitcher Joe Ryan to triceps injury

CHICAGO – The Twins lost 8-2 to the Chicago Cubs in their series finale Wednesday at Wrigley Field, and more concerning, they may have lost starting pitcher Joe Ryan for an important stretch of the season.

Ryan motioned to the dugout after throwing his fourth pitch in the third inning, exiting with right triceps tightness, the team announced. Ryan was unavailable for comment afterward, but he walked off the mound after a short conversation with head trainer Nick Paparesta.

Manager Rocco Baldelli didn’t want to speculate on the severity of the injury before Ryan is examined further, but he said Ryan was “relatively at ease” when they chatted afterward.

“It’s not good and he’s probably going to miss a little time here, in one form or another, but we’re going to have to wait and see,” Baldelli said. “Plenty of time come back and pitch some games for us this year.”

Ryan’s injury, which could require a stint on the 15-day injured list, comes when the Twins are set to begin a seven-game homestand Friday against division rivals Cleveland and Kansas City. The Twins, who play 16 of their next 20 games versus teams with winning records, are four games behind the first-place Guardians ahead of their four-game series.

Ryan threw three splitters and one fastball to Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong in the third inning before his removal. The velocity on his splitter was down by about 2 mph compared to the first inning, but his fastball velocity was normal.

He allowed one hit, a solo homer to Inver Grove Heights native and Simley grad Michael Busch in the first inning, and he struck out two batters over the first two innings.

“I didn’t see anything until he signaled to the dugout,” catcher Ryan Jeffers said. “His stuff looked fine. I think it was more of a feel thing.”

The Twins sought a starting pitcher at the trade deadline to bolster their depth with Chris Paddack on the IL and two rookies — Simeon Woods Richardson and David Festa — in their starting rotation, but they didn’t complete any deals. They were outbid by the Houston Astros in their negotiations for Toronto lefty Yusei Kikuchi, a source told the Star Tribune, and trade talks never gained traction with divisional foes Detroit (Jack Flaherty) or the Chicago White Sox (Erick Fedde).

Ryan, who left the game after 33 pitches, has thrown a team-leading 135 innings this season with a 7-7 record and a 3.60 ERA.

“It’s tough. It’s unfortunate. It’s not what we want to see, but it’s not something that we can’t work around,” Baldelli said. “We still have plenty of season left, and he’s going to have plenty of time to heal up.”

Trevor Richards, the Twins’ lone trade addition, replaced the injured Ryan, and he had a disastrous outing. Richards walked five of the eight batters he faced, which included a bases-loaded walk, and he had two wild pitches. The Cubs scored three runs in the third inning with only one hit.

“I felt fine,” Richards said. “If you go back and look at it, it’s not like I was spraying the ball all over the place. I was missing in the same spot. If the plate was a quarter-of-an-inch bigger, they are all strikes. I mean, it’s just one of those days. I don’t know if it was visually or what, it was just off.”

Cole Sands, who pitched out of Richards’ bases-loaded jam, gave up a two-run homer to Ian Happ in the fourth inning. Those were the first earned runs against Sands since June 19, snapping a streak that lasted 18 innings.

The Twins had a 2-1 lead before Ryan left the game. Matt Wallner hammered an RBI double in the first inning, scoring Trevor Larnach from first on a hit that left his bat at 114 mph.

Carlos Santana and Max Kepler opened the second inning with back-to-back singles against Cubs starter Javier Assad. After an error on a pickoff attempt put two runners in scoring position with none out, Brooks Lee had the most productive swing with an RBI groundout to end a 13-pitch at-bat.

The Twins didn’t have another baserunner reach third base.