KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kauffman Stadium sat mostly empty Tuesday amid a scheduled off day during the three-game series between the Twins and Kansas City Royals. As many MLB teams do the day after the home opener, the Royals left the schedule blank in case they needed to re-schedule a rainout.

Good for the Royals, less so for the Twins (who lost 3-1) — the weather was fine for Opening Day at the K.

A day later, a ballpark with no game was no matter for Twins right-hander Joe Ryan, who used his time to prepare.

His next start comes when the series resumes Wednesday night. Working on your day off is one way Major League Baseball players live differently than other folks. Instead of using the open time to catch up on tasks he had been putting off, or just taking it easy, Ryan went through his day-before routine. It’s not usually a lot of full-speed throwing, but there’s stretching, cardio and other exercises pitchers use to bridge their starts. It will have been six days since Ryan threw 5 1/3 innings against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Opening Day.

“I have to be here anyway,” Ryan told the Pioneer Press. “There are benefits sometimes to being a starting pitcher, but there’s also the other side: You come in on your off days. If you have a bullpen day, or you have to stay in your routine the day before, you go to the ballpark.”

Sometimes, the schedule works out in different ways. Ryan said he caught a break after his first start, again because of the open date that followed Baltimore’s home opener. He and his father, Kurt Ryan, did some sightseeing in the nation’s capital, about 45 miles away.

“I got to walk around and explore D.C. with my dad,” Ryan said. “So I’ll take that day as my off day, and then [Tuesday] is a working off day.”

Ryan said he has visited Washington before, but his dad, who helped to raise the Ryan family in Marin County, Calif., was checking it out for the first time.

Ryan said the pair “walked about 10 miles and just kind of explored,” which is in Kurt Ryan’s wheelhouse. He is said to be an ultra-marathon runner who frequently took his family, including Joe, on long hikes out west.

Together again in D.C., the Ryans toured the U.S. Capitol, the U.S. Botanical Garden, the Air and Space Museum and the Library of Congress.

“The Library of Congress, that was gorgeous,” Ryan said.

The visit turned somber and poignant along the National Mall. There, the Ryans stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where 58,318 names of Americans who gave their life are inscribed.

“We found the name of his childhood neighbor on the wall,” Ryan said.

It was a memorable time for the Ryans to talk, catch up and learn something.

“To see where the nation has come from, the history that we’ve preserved, I’m glad we got a chance to do it,” Ryan said.

Ryan now has a chance to help get the Twins back on the right path after they’ve dropped three of their first four games in 2026. Most of the club’s issues have come at the plate. They’re averaging three runs per game, which puts them in the lower third in the league. Only four teams have fewer hits with runners in scoring position (6-for-27) than the Twins.

The Royals scheduled left-hander Noah Cameron on Wednesday, the second of three lefty starters the Twins can expect in the series. Cole Ragans is scheduled for Thursday afternoon in the finale.

Not ideal, especially for a team set up like the Twins with so many key lefty hitters. But as slugger Matt Wallner said: Getting lefties back-to-back-to-back “is better than going two weeks without facing any.”

Ryan pitched well in his first start, striking out seven, allowing just one hit and recording 16 outs. Starting pitching hasn’t been a problem for the Twins so far, except for Bailey Ober’s outing. But manager Derek Shelton probably wants his starters to go deeper this turn.

Starting with Ryan, who could take a bit more of a hike against the Royals.