SAN DIEGO — If there had been a fire alarm, Dylan Bundy would have set it off. If there had been flares, Chris Archer would have set off one. And on Friday, Joe Ryan nearly scrawled SOS on his cap and dialed 911.
The Twins’ starting rotation appears to be frantically calling for emergency help this week, with the potential to trade for more pitches in just three days. After Bundy and Archer allowed five and six runs, respectively, in just four and three innings at Milwaukee, Ryan, the Twins’ most successful starting pitcher on staff in 2022, inexplicably collapsed at Petco Park.
The rookie right-hander, who had never given up more than two home runs in an MLB game, served a franchise-record five of them to the Padres and gave up all 10 runs in the Twins’ third straight loss, 10-1.
Minnesota’s starting rotation now boasts a collective 7.02 ERA in July, and that’s never the direst number the Twins face. The Twins’ tenuous hold on their lead over AL Central has shrunk to just one game against the Guardians, who have won three of their last four games.
A sold-out crowd of 43,171, the largest crowd to watch a Twins game since 2019, enjoyed watching the Friday night fireworks provided, virtually once per inning, by Padres bouncing balls Ryan’s misplaced rapids. Luke Voit started with a blast in the first inning, Ha-Seong Kim connected in the second inning, Eric Hosmer threw one to center field in the fourth, and after Manny Machado homered in the fifth, the shot at three-pointers from Jorge Alfaro finally knocked Ryan out.
Only Carlos Silva in 2006 and Bert Blyleven in 1986 had ever given up five home runs in a game, and no Twin since Rick Reed in 2003 had been charged with 10 runs. Ryan’s ERA, who started the day with a team best 2.89, jumped to 3.78 in just 4 2/3 innings.
The only bright spot for the Twins was provided by Byron Buxton, who hammered a first-pitch fastball from Blake Snell into the left-field seats, becoming the fifth Twins player to hit 25 homers in the first 100 games. ‘a season. But Snell allowed just three more hits in his six-inning stint, striking out seven.
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