Minneapolis \u2013 In the early parts of the season, it didn\u2019t look like the Minnesota Twins would be digging themselves out of a 7-15 hole after the Atlanta Braves swept them on the road. They\u2019ve turned things around by 13-5 since, including a seven-game winning streak they extended on Saturday night after a 2-1 victory over the San Francisco Giants.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think our guys are thinking about playing good,\u201d Twins manager Rocco Baldelli<\/a> said postgame after he was ejected in the bottom of the sixth for arguing balls and strikes. \u201cI\u2019ve been very pleased with what I\u2019ve been seeing all over the place, everywhere you look. Guys are playing with great confidence right now, and again, I like what I\u2019m seeing. I do.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe Ryan<\/a> has been battling flu-like symptoms all week but threw six scoreless frames, allowing no walks and striking out seven. He had some strength back but was still far from feeling 100% on the mound. Some of his pitches weren\u2019t hitting their locations, but it all came together for those seven strikeouts.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, there were definitely pitches in there where I was like, f\u2014, don\u2019t swing,\u201d said Ryan. \u201cAnd they didn\u2019t, and so it worked out. It feels good to have that and not have them slap me in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n Low-scoring games had not been going the Twins\u2019 way coming into the Giants. They were 0-17 when scoring three or fewer runs. However, Minnesota has started to turn things around, winning back-to-back games totaling only five runs between them. But what got them over the hump in Saturday night\u2019s win was sharpness from their defense and pitching.<\/p>\n It can all be pinpointed to a play between Christian V\u00e1zquez<\/a> and Royce Lewis<\/a> in the top of the eighth. Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos<\/a> hit a lead-off double and advanced to third on a flyout to center.<\/p>\n He was at third with one out and Patrick Bailey<\/a> at the plate. Just as Cole Sands<\/a>\u2019 first pitch thrown made it across home plate, V\u00e1zquez popped up from behind the plate and threw the ball to Lewis at third to tag out Ramos, who made himself an easy target for the Twins catcher.<\/p>\n Tag, you\u2019re out! pic.twitter.com\/npYRjrc7a9<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 11, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI cannot tell you the sign,\u201d V\u00e1zquez said postgame. \u201cBut he knows I like to throw, and he\u2019s ready always. More with a man on third and one out, they\u2019re probably going with the contact play and were trying to get the run there, and we did it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI knew when he threw it on the money like that,\u201d said Lewis, \u201cthat we were going to get him.\u201d<\/p>\n Baldelli was sitting on one of the couches in the Twins clubhouse watching the play from V\u00e1zquez, and as soon as he saw the results, he couldn\u2019t contain his excitement.<\/p>\n \u201cI was screaming. My voice is kind of gone right now,\u201d Baldelli said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have been yelling any louder from the couch in here watching the game. It takes an immense amount of confidence in a baseball player\u2019s ability to make that play.\u201d<\/p>\n Minnesota\u2019s pitching staff didn\u2019t need much extra help from the offense outside of Trevor Larnach<\/a>\u2019s two-run homer in the third, which scored V\u00e1zquez after he drew a lead-off walk to start the inning.<\/p>\n Ryan\u2019s fastball velocity was down 1.2 MPH compared to his last start against the Red Sox on May 2, but it wasn\u2019t all that concerning to him, considering the intense illness he was feeling earlier in the week.<\/p>\n He said he still didn\u2019t feel his best on the mound against his hometown squad, but he was pleased with his results despite still battling his illness.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt super dehydrated, and I felt that was where the command was leaving me even more,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that last inning, yeah, I was going to make pitches, but I felt like that was what I was doing the whole time, so why not? At the same time, we have some great guys in the bullpen to lock it down for three, so why not do that?\u201d<\/p>\n Griffin Jax<\/a>, Sands, and Jhoan Duran<\/a> had elite performances out of the pen with Jax facing the minimum in the seventh and Sands doing the same in the eighth, thanks to V\u00e1zquez\u2019s incredible throw.<\/p>\n Duran looked like he might not have the same luck in the top of the ninth, following a bunt down the third base line from Giants second baseman Christian Koss<\/a>. A few pitches later, luck went his way as he took a ground ball right back to the mound to get a 1-6-3 double play and strikeout the last batter of the game.<\/p>\n QUICK REFLEXES pic.twitter.com\/mVKnFov9X3<\/a><\/p>\n