Joe Ryan provided a strong start, but the Twins mustered just three hits in a loss to the Mets that came on a night Target Field set a new record for lowest attendance in its history (excluding COVID).
Joe Ryan delivered a strong performance on the mound, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Minnesota Twins on a chilly, subdued night at Target Field. In a game marked by offensive struggles and historically low turnout, the Twins fell to the New York Mets, managing just three hits in a 3-1 loss. The defeat dropped Minnesota further behind in the AL Central standings and underscored the club’s early-season inconsistency.
Ryan, who has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise uneven start to the Twins’ 2025 campaign, pitched six solid innings. He allowed just two runs—both coming in the third inning—and struck out seven while walking only one. The right-hander kept the Mets off balance with a sharp fastball and improved command of his off-speed pitches, giving his team every chance to compete. But on a night when the offense offered little support, his efforts ultimately went unrewarded.
“He did his job, no question,” manager Rocco Baldelli said after the game. “Joe gave us everything we could have asked for. We’ve got to give him more help at the plate.”
Offensively, the Twins were quiet. The lineup, which has struggled to string together hits this season, was stymied by Mets starter Sean Manaea, who scattered three hits over seven innings and struck out nine. Manaea looked comfortable from the start, working efficiently and keeping Twins hitters guessing. The only real sign of life came in the fifth inning when Byron Buxton doubled and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Christian Vázquez, accounting for the Twins’ lone run.
Minnesota’s best opportunity to shift momentum came in the seventh, when they put a runner on with one out, but a double play quickly ended the threat. The final two innings saw little resistance as Mets relievers shut the door with ease.
With the loss, the Twins dropped to 6-10 on the season and have now lost four of their last five games. The team’s offense has been particularly troubling, averaging just 3.1 runs per game over that stretch and showing few signs of breaking out of its early-season slump.
Yet perhaps the most striking aspect of the night wasn’t what happened between the lines but what didn’t happen in the stands. Tuesday’s game set a new record for the lowest attendance in Target Field history—excluding the pandemic-impacted 2020 and 2021 seasons. The announced crowd of just over 10,000 fans was a stark contrast to the atmosphere usually expected at the ballpark, especially in the early weeks of spring when optimism still lingers. Whether it was the cold weather, the team’s slow start, or a combination of factors, the turnout underscored a growing sense of frustration or apathy among the fan base.
“It’s disappointing,” said Carlos Correa. “We feed off the energy in this place, and when it’s quiet like that, it’s noticeable. But we’ve got to play better, plain and simple. We haven’t given fans much reason to come out yet.”
The Twins hope to turn things around quickly, especially with a long homestand ahead and division rivals on the horizon. If they are to do so, it will require more than just quality starts from their top pitchers—it will take a concerted effort from a lineup that has yet to find its rhythm.
For now, the story remains the same: solid pitching, silent bats, and an empty stadium. Until that changes, nights like this one may continue to define the Twins’ 2025 season.
