Twins bid for no-hitter combo ends with 1 out in 9th against KC

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota rookie Joe Ryan and reliever Jovani Moran combined to throw a no-hitter fly ball until Bobby Witt Jr. doubled with one out in the ninth inning as the Twins beat the Royals from Kansas City 6-3 Tuesday night.

Ryan was retired after seven innings and 106 pitches, four shy of his major league high. There was never a no-hitter at Target Field and the Royals weren’t close to having one against him.

The crowd of 19,005 booed when Twins manager Rocco Baldelli sent Moran to the mound to start the eighth.

« I’m not worried about it, » Baldelli said. « I want the best for this team and I want to go to the playoffs and I want to win playoff games, and that’s my priority right now. »

Ryan tried to plead his case.

« He said, ‘Look, I threw about 156 pitches in a game,’ which is fantastic, but I think it’s true, » Baldelli said. « But all of that said, it doesn’t really affect what’s going on here and the fact that we need him to face the Guardians later this week. »

In fact, as a senior at Cal State Stanislaus, Ryan threw 142 pitches in a game against Cal Poly Pomona in 2018.

Ryan said he understood Baldelli’s rationale.

« Pitch count obviously comes into play. We’re trying to win a few games and I’m pitching again five days too, » Ryan said.

Moran worked a perfect eighth. He retired Drew Waters to start the ninth before walking pinch hitter Hunter Dozier and MJ Melendez.

The Royals hadn’t gone close to a hit until Witt lined up a 1-2 fastball for a clean drive deep left for an RBI double, prompting more boos from the fans.

« I wanted to help out and be part of that no-hitter, but that’s part of the game, » Moran said. « And of course I’m going to get mad because I wanted to do my best and get this out, but it happens. »

Sebastian Rivero followed with a hit that led to another run and Vinnie Pasquantino had a sacrifice fly.

The Twins’ last no-hitter was by Francisco Liriano against the White Sox on May 3, 2011 in Chicago.

Carlos Correa, Jose Miranda and Gio Urshela hit home runs as the Twins snapped a three-game skid. They were five games behind Cleveland in the AL Central.

Ryan (11-8) struck out nine, walked two and put down his last 12 batters. He has never gone past seven innings in his career and had lost three of his previous four decisions.

The 26-year-old right-hander had never gone past seven innings in his career. He has a league-high 110 shots, made Aug. 9 at the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ryan was a member of last year’s U.S. Olympic team and was traded to Twins by Rays while in Japan.

The Royals avoided being hit for the first time since 2008 when Jon Lester shut them down in Boston.

« What’s going on in the dugout is frustration, » Royals manager Mike Matheny said. « Guys realize it’s embarrassing not to get hit. Going up there fighting their bats, but it’s not something you want them to finish. »

« So it was good to do a few runs, to do some positive things and hopefully that translates into more attacking tomorrow. »

Kris Bubic (2-12) allowed 10 hits and five runs with six strikeouts in five innings.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: RF Max Kepler (right leg) was not in Tuesday’s lineup, but Baldelli hoped he would be available on the bench. Meanwhile, Baldelli says OF-INF Jorge Polanco and RHP Bailey Ober could potentially return this week. The manager also said OF Byron Buxton is slightly behind Polanco.

NEXT

Royals: RHP Zack Greinke (4-8) makes his 23rd start of the season Wednesday night. He’s 0-3 against Minnesota this season with a 4.20 ERA in those outings. He is 0-6 on the road this season.

Twins: RHP Sonny Gray (7-4) will be looking to go 3-0 against the Royals this season when he takes the mound on Wednesday night.

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Andres Ybarra, Associated Press