FORT MYERS—There are spring training games that invite a little extra, lineup-driven pageantry, and the first Grapefruit League game on Saturday afternoon is one of them. It’s not uncommon to see most of the likely Opening Day roster, in front of an amped-up ballpark and a Twins.TV audience. So, it should come as no surprise that we learned Joe Ryan will take the mound that day.
Ryan was one of the few steady pillars of the Twins’ 2025 season, earning an All-Star nod and finishing with a 13-10 record, a 3.42 ERA, 171 innings, and 194 strikeouts (with a 1.04 WHIP), while also being the subject of trade rumors even into the offseason. For a 2026 club that will rely on its rotation, he’s the clear remaining ace-like pitcher on the roster.Â
Go Gophers! Go Zebby!
Saturday is the first Grapefruit League game, but the Twins’ first game of the year comes Friday against the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, and it’s also on Twins.TV. It’s scheduled as a seven-inning exhibition, so tune in early (5:05 p.m. CT)
You’ll see Zebby Matthews on the mound. He was the talk of spring training last year at this time, thanks to some newfound velocity. But his 2025 results (5.56 ERA) didn’t live up to the excitement.
When manager Rocco Baldelli was asked about Matthews’s struggles last year, he kept coming back to the same word: consistency. In camp yesterday, Matthews talked about that, too — while also acknowledging he still has only about a year of big-league experience, and that the success can come with time.
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